Brother's Keeper
by SimmyC
Summary: Naru and Keitaro are happily married and are expecting their first child! However, one girl's obsession will change their lives forever. WARNING, DARKFIC! Chapter 7 is up!
1. Chapter 1

"Brother's Keeper"

-A Dark Love Hina story.

-This is my first "Love Hina" story! I've finally started it! Well, sort of. This is one of my oldest story ideas, and also, one of my darkest. Like my "Ah, My Goddess" story before I started it, my goal was to either read all the mangas, or watch all of the anime episodes and OVA before I've started. Though reading the differences between the manga and the anime, I've pretty much made up my mind and will have this story take place in the manga timeline, and not the anime. Problem is, I don't have all the mangas yet. I do have the last volume, Volume 14, and since this story is set after the series, that sort of helped as a jumping off point. But, not having the rest (well, actually, eleven of the fourteen volumes), well, not exactly a plus now is it? Especially if a certain plot point I'm thinking of, contradicts a certain volume in the manga.

-So why I have Volume 14 (and 4, and 5) and not the others? Well, other then wanting to start this story right away (so Volume 14 helps), the only place that sells them that's near where I am (college) doesn't have all the volumes. Okay, I could buy them through say, Amazon, but again, other then not wanting to deal with the whole buying them online thing, I'm also a poor student here. Have to keep my priorities straight with what little money I have. These come first after all, textbooks, rent, food, and beer. :-P

-Quick summary, this story takes place after the mangas. Keitaro and Naru are happily married. Naru is pregnant with Keitaro's first child. However, things turn horrible wrong when a girl's obsession goes too far.

-Standard Disclaimer – I do not own Love Hina. While this story is mine, it is set after a series that certainly isn't mine. It is also using characters from said series that are not my own. If asked, I will take this story down immediately.

-On with the story!

* * *

Grocery Store

'I'm going to be a father!' Keitaro kept thinking to himself as he strolled down the vegetable aisle. He was daydreaming what his son would look like when he finally arrived. He was also daydreaming all the things they would be doing, like playing baseball together, helping his son with his homework, watching him play with his friends, and later, maybe even teaching him all the things he should do around women!

Scratch that…

Make that, all the things he SHOULDN'T do around women. Falling over them while they were in a various state of dress, or more appropriately, undress, was certainly high on that list.

Of course, he had been thinking this for the last seven months or so when he and his wife, Naru, found out about this joyous discovery. Well, joyous discovery except being sent into Low Earth Orbit by Naru when she first found out.

"Hey Keitaro…" Naru, with a very noticeable bulge in her midsection, called out next to him.

'And then I can show him all the wondrous discoveries I've uncovered in a recent dig in Afghanistan! Who would've thought that Molmol had a colony there! I'll show him how great archeology is! Maybe he'll be just like me…' Keitaro's eyes were glazed over for a moment until he frowned at that last thought. He needed to correct that last statement quickly. 'Without all the clumsiness!'

After their wedding and subsequent honeymoon (where Keitaro still had the bruises to show for), Keitaro finally accepted a job working for the Pararakelse Joint Research Center. The offer from them, as it turned out, never had an expiration date. This even after four years after it was first offered he was still able to accept it. He and Naru traveled the world, from one dig to another. Naru, to show her devotion to Keitaro, decided to join him on these archeology trips. After all, it was his dream from the beginning. She was happy to see it fulfilled, even if it meant putting her own dream on hold for a while. With his dedication and almost maniac zeal for it, something he would later say was passed down from his mentor Seta, he was quickly building a reputation as one of the best archeologist in the world. Though Naru wasn't really into archeology, she accepted it as being a part of the deal with Keitaro. She especially didn't like the constant change in scenery that being with Keitaro meant. Still, because of her love for him, she never regretted going along with him. Though Keitaro did promise that after a few more digs, he would 'retire' and just stay as a lecturer at Tokyo University. After all, Keitaro himself wanted to see Naru's dream fulfilled as well. Though her dream was more modest then Keitaro's. Naru wanted to become a teacher. While she joked about changing it before, in reality, that was still her dream. However, that plan was cut short when the test came back positive.

"Keitaro…" Naru, still next to him at the grocery store, repeated with a more threatening tone.

'I can't wait to see his face when Naru finally gives birth!' Keitaro thought, still not noticing the darkening aura surrounding Naru or the fist that was shaking by her side. 'I just hope it goes better then the time when Naru found out she was pregnant with our son!'

When Keitaro heard those two little words, 'I'm pregnant,' coming from Naru, he thought it was going to be the happiest day of his and her life. Happiest after the day she accepted his proposal of marriage of course. However, what he didn't expect was Naru's tears when she told him, for they were not tears of joy. When he tried to press the issue, her response sill reverberated through his mind.

'YOU BASTARD!' Keitaro winced as he remembered Naru's deafening cry before his painful trip via the Naru express.

"KEITARO!" Naru yelled, snapping Keitaro back to realty.

Keitaro blinked out of his daydream and turned to his wife. "Eek!" He stepped back after seeing the fire burning in her eyes.

It was true that the pregnancy was an unplanned one. Both Keitaro and Naru had done it many times before, even enough times where Keitaro wasn't even harmed! However, when the test results came back positive, it was still a complete shock to the both of them. When it happened, all of their previous plans shattered in front of them. Though Keitaro couldn't care less about continuing his dream of being a famous archeologist, especially given the fact that, for all intent and purpose, he was one, the same can't be said for Naru.

"You're doing it again aren't you?" Naru said in a low threatening voice. "It better not be something perverted…"

"You know it isn't!" Keitaro weakly defended as he took a few more steps back. "You know I was just thinking about our future baby here!" Keitaro said, ending it with a nervous laugh.

Naru's anger started to subside after hearing that. In her mind, she always knew it was true. Though deep down in her heart, there was still a nagging voice that refused to go away ever since she met Keitaro. It was a voice that for all intent and purpose should've been slain by now. Naru took a deep breath, and looked down at her belly. "Yeah. I can't believe it is really happening."

Naru took it hard for the first few months of the pregnancy. All her dreams of being a teacher in a school setting was, for the most part, shattered. While she kept telling herself that this doesn't stop that dream, only delays it, it still was a big blow to her. She wasn't even contemplating being a mother for the immediate future when she found out. Keitaro also felt guilty since, he too, wasn't planning on this. He also blamed himself for not wearing protection for that one night. The one night that would forever change their lives in more ways then one.

Keitaro sighed in relief. "So, um, Naru, what do you want?"

Naru turned to the meat aisle and picked up a few packages. "Is it safe for me to eat this?"

"Um…" Keitaro scratched the back of his head. While it was a little unusual for Naru to be asking his opinion on something as mundane as this, given that she was now eating for the health of two, things like this was important. "The doctor said that it should be fine as long as the meat is thoroughly cooked!"

"Cooked like well done cook?" Naru asked.

"Well to be safe I guess." Keitaro replied. "I mean, you should've known it for the past seven months…"

Naru's eyes shot towards Keitaro. "You're telling me I have a bad memory?"

"Eek! Um…no! Not at all!" Keitaro tried to wave her off. "I'm just um…yeah! It's safe! It's safe!"

Naru again took another deep breath in order to calm her nerves. "Okay, I'll get a few for tonight."

"Phew." Keitaro sighed in relief, again. While most days are not this bad, as Naru's due date was quickly approaching, the stress and the anticipation were definitely building up. Naru, for the most part, was on pins and needles.

After a few months, Naru finally came to terms with what fate had granted her. She was even slightly excited at the prospects of bringing a little bundle of joy into this world. It was also much to the relief of Keitaro to see this change in her. Still, it was hard to forget the old fears and desires that she once had, and to some extent, still had. Because of this, Keitaro reminded her, day after day after day, that he would be by her side, always.

Keitaro then checked his watch. It was almost time for his class to start. "Looks like we should get back home soon! My class is going to start in about an hour or so." Keitaro took a few steps back towards the exit. What he didn't know was that the female store clerk was standing right behind him.

"Are you two finding everything alright?" The store clerk, with her eyes closed, cheerfully spoke.

Keitaro's eyes widened. He tried to stop in mid track since he knew what would happen next. Unfortunately, the linoleum floor was just a bit too slippery and his left foot lost its footing, causing Keitaro to crash into the store clerk.

The end result was obvious.

"Oof!" The store clerk was stunned as she found herself tumble backwards due to a certain mass known as Keitaro. She was too stunned to notice their questionable position. She was also too stunned to realize where Keitaro's hands were currently resting on.

Resting on her not so small bosom.

Unfortunately for Keitaro, while the store clerk wasn't aware of where his hands were, the same can't be said for Naru whose face was, at first shock, then full of rage.

Keitaro looked back and spat off a weak apology. "Naru! It was an accident!"

Naru gritted her teeth. Her fist wound up behind her. "PERVERT!"

The next thing Keitaro knew was a familiar feeling of air passing by. As well as seeing the clouds surround him. Something he pretty much expected. He wasn't looking forward to it, after all, he isn't a masochist despite all the rumors, but, after what happened, he knew it was coming.

Back on the ground, Naru was panting really hard.

The stunned store clerk recovered from her shock, stood up and dusted herself off. While she couldn't completely blame the woman from acting the way she did, at the same time though, she knew that it was an accident. "Ma'am, um, I'm sorry but…just so you know, I'm sure he didn't mean it."

Naru slowly drops her shaking hand. After a moment of going back from the hole in the roof, to the store clerk, and back to the hole in the roof, Naru took a deep breath to calm her nerves, before she finally responded to the store clerk. "I…I know." Naru stuttered out, a little unsure of herself. "I…I guess old habits die hard." She looked at her hand and thought about all the times she sent Keitaro into LEO.

At the same time, Keitaro was thinking the same thing. 'She hasn't done this in a while! At least, not in the last…um…three months!' Once Naru began to accept her feelings for Keitaro that she had kept hidden for a long time, she did try to be, at the very least, less violent towards him. Even give him time to explain what he was doing at a given situation. At least before she found out she was pregnant. 'But all that changed. However, that's only because of the mood swings! A symptom of the pregnancy!' This was something Keitaro kept telling himself. 'I'm sure once our child is born, things will go back to the way it was! At least, the way things were when we both expressed our love!'

Back on the ground, Naru took another deep breath. "I guess I should get him and apol…" Suddenly, the hairs on the back of her neck started to stand up. She whipped her head back. Her heart was slightly racing as she scanned one end of the aisle to the other. She could've sworn that a shadow moved out behind one of the aisles.

"Are you okay ma'am?" The store clerk asked as she noticed Naru's alarmed appearance.

"Huh?" Naru swung her head back to the store clerk. She then took one quick peek behind her before she turned her full attention to the store clerk. "Um, yeah, I'm fine." Naru quickly replied. "I'm just...well, tired I guess. Hehehe!" Naru gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, um, I guess I should pay for all this."

The woman looked at her unsure, but decided to let that feeling pass. "Yeah. I guess you should get plenty of rest! After all, it is not just you that you should be concerned about!" She quickly rang up Naru's groceries.

After Naru paid for all the groceries and left, she still couldn't get rid of the sneaking suspicion that she was being watched.

-Later…

Streets of Tokyo

"I'm sorry…" Naru weakly apologizes. "It's just, with the baby coming in a few months and…"

"It's okay!" Keitaro wrapped a comforting arm around her. "I understand. I mean, in just a few short months, both of our lives will change when the new arrival comes!"

Naru smiled. "It's not just that. It's also…" She looked down, slightly embarrassed. "I'm…you know…um…"

Keitaro caught on with what Naru was trying to say. "Naru, I still believe that you're the most beautiful woman in the world!"

Naru smiled at Keitaro. She greatly appreciated the little compliments from him.

Though old habits die hard…

"I'm sure once our son has arrived, you'd lose all of that weight!" Keitaro smiled innocently.

Naru narrowed her eyes. "Are you telling me I'm fat?"

Keitaro's eyes widened. "No! That's not what I…"

**POW! **Keitaro has been taken on another trip via the Naru express.

Naru watched Keitaro's disappearing figure in the sky. "Oops." Yes, old habits do die hard.

Suddenly, Naru saw movement behind an alleyway. "Huh?" Or at least, she thought she saw movement. She quickly ran up to the alleyway to see who was there. Once she was there, the only thing she saw was darkness. "Maybe it was just a homeless man. Or a cat." Naru took a deep sigh. "I must really need to take that nap." A sharp pain ran down her spin. "Ugh…and rest my aching back!" Naru started to walk back towards her and Keitaro's apartment.

Once she was out of range, a certain raven-haired woman walked out of the shadows of the alleyway. She gave a quick glance to the departed woman. Her eyes were cold and uncaring. On her shoulder was a black cat with massive ears. It softly meowed at the scene.

-Later…

Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

Naru was the first to enter their modest apartment. A slightly bruised Keitaro followed soon afterwards. Though Keitaro, and in turn, Naru, still owned the Hinata Sou, and are actually making a nice steady profit off of it, they both decided that they should live somewhere far away from there. They both determined that, in order for their son not to be Keitaro II, he would grow up in an environment safe from any potentially embarrassing or perverted encounters. Which was something that an all girls dormitory would not provide.

At the moment, Keitaro was putting away the groceries. "Um, is there anything I can get for you Naru?"

Naru plopped herself on the couch to rest her aching back. "No, no thank you. I think I'm fine." Suddenly, something popped in her head. "On second thought, how about a glass of lemonade?"

"Sure my love!" Keitaro took out a pitcher of lemonade, filled it up, and gave it to Naru. "Is there anything else?"

Naru was about to say something when Keitaro quickly looked at his watch.

"Oh no! Class is about to begin…um…" He looked back at Naru. "Well, if it is important, I can stay here you know. Sure they won't be happy with it but…"

"No!" Naru waved her arms around. "It's okay! I'm fine! I can handle myself! Um…" She then calmed down as her back started to act up again. "I'll be fine Keitaro! You really need that paycheck you know. We…" Naru looked at her belly. "Both need this too."

Though he was still a little worried, Keitaro smiled. "Okay! Well, I'll be back in a few hours!"

"Thank you!" Naru smiled at him. "Oh, and I'll have dinner ready once you get home!"

Keitaro looked at her. His eyes still full of concern. "Naru, you don't have to! We can eat at the Tea Shop! I'm sure Shinobu wouldn't mind…"

Naru narrowed her eyes. "Are you saying that there is something wrong with my cooking?"

Kietaro waved his hands in front of him. "No, no! I…I just don't want to see you overexert yourself. Especially for me."

Naru smiled. 'I truly am the luckiest woman on earth!' "It's okay Keitaro, I love cooking! At least, after Shinobu taught me how to cook… Besides, it's not that hard on me! Really!" She then turned back to him. "Now go to work already Keitaro! Your class is waiting!"

"Okay! If you insist…" Keitaro headed towards the door. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me! I mean sure, I tell my students to turn off their cell phones during class, but since I'm the professor…"

"Just go already will ya!" Naru yelled as Keitaro was starting to annoy her with his delaying tactics.

"OKAY!" Keitaro said in a slightly scared voice. "Bye!" He quickly ran out and slammed the door behind him. The door then suddenly reopened a short moment later. "I'll see ya tonight! Remember I love you!" He then slammed the door shut again.

"I love you too Keitaro." Naru said as she rested back on the couch.

Once the silence descended throughout the room, Naru took a deep sigh of relief. "Now, I can just sit here and relax!" She took a big sip from her lemonade.

A creek sounded behind her.

Naru shot her head back to the sound. "Hello?" Naru gulped. Was someone else inside? Was Keitaro still here, playing a trick? No, it can't be him, she just saw him leave. Not to mention the fact that, given that scaring her would warrant a Naru punch, it wasn't something he would do. Maybe it was Kaolla Su? Possibly, but why would she be here? True, she was a college student now, and not the spunky child she remembered, but she was still, well, psycho. "Su? If that is you, it is not a good time to play games Su! Come back in two months and you would have someone new to play with!"

There was no answer.

Naru gulped. "Maybe it was just my imagination!" However, her fear was quickly taking over. This was the same feeling that she was getting for a while. Not just in the grocery store, but also for the last few months, she had the feeling that she was being watched, being followed. She felt it at the train store, when she went clothes shopping, when she went shopping for baby supplies, and now, she was getting it in her very own home. At first, she just thought it was her hormones doing a number on her. But as the days went by, she wasn't so sure about that. Naru slowly made her way to the kitchen. She slowly rounded the dining table in the small modest kitchen. She took a few steps back towards the counter. Never taking her eyes off the doorway. She felt her way across the cool tile surface towards the knife holder that was resting on the counter. She felt one of the wooden handles and slowly took it out. Once the knife was fully out of its holder, she quickly swung it around, from doorway to doorway. Her ears were perked up waiting, waiting for any sound that might be approaching her.

Still nothing.

"Whoever you are, this isn't funny!" Naru said out load.

Still nothing.

She slowly stepped back towards the other doorway. She gripped the knife handle as hard as she can. She took one step back, then another, then another.

Suddenly, a massive arm surrounded her body. Before she could scream, a massive gloved hand covered her mouth.

Naru's eyes were wide with fear as she felt a man's breath tickling her right ear.

"Now you'd be a good girl and come with me, yes?" The man harshly whispered in her ear.

-------End of Chapter 1

Let me repeat, this story will be dark! As for pairings, well, there really isn't one. Okay, Naru/Keitaro obviously! BUT, that's before this story takes an EXTREMELY dark turn. Since I don't want to give the impression that this is some sort of fucked up romance fic, I'm not going to be mentioning any pairings to look for.

Second, as you can probably guess, we have Kanako here. What does she have to do with this? You'll find out next chapter! Oh, and possible OOCness that you can't tell yet given that I barely included her? Yeah, at least, post-Volume 14 OOCness, but I hope to explain it in the upcoming chapters.

As for other OOCness, I'm sure there will be some since, well, I'll always leave room for that possibility since I am not perfect! For example, Naru in this chapter is pretty much OOC since, after all, she's more 'forgiving' to Keitaro now right? Then again, she is pregnant, and I heard that pregnant woman do have mood swings…not that I would know anything about it but umm…yeah…

As for the story itself, for the most part, I have this story completely thought out. Something I can barely say about my other stories. The only thing missing are the minor details that I can only get from the mangas (for example, all of Motoko's attacks for one thing. The one detail I just read in Volume 14, Motoko not inheriting her school since, well, Japan declared it a national landmark). While for the most part, they won't change the overall story, things like Motoko not inheriting the school IS still pretty big difference. Especially in terms of accuracy if this story is really set after the mangas.

Oh yeah, and if you note, I said that this is my first Love Hina story, but I didn't say that it will be my only story. Why? Well, I do have another one planned already! It will be a Tsuruko/Keitaro fic, with a twist. All Tsuruko/Keitaro stories here had it where Tsuruko's husband is dead. But what if, he wasn't dead? Add to that, she already had her first child (most likely, son). Difficult? Yes. Especially given who Tsuruko is and, we all know, she would NEVER do something to jeopardize her relationship. But my concept goes along the idea that no one is perfect. And the consequences here will be quite big. This story, though, unlike this one that is set after the mangas, probably won't see the light of day after a while (still need to get most/all of them before this one becomes a reality).

Oh, and while this story has been proofread, chances are, there will still be some grammar mistakes. In fact, I just did my second proofread, and I STILL found mistakes! I am open to a beta reader if any of you are interested!

Next Chapter…Keitaro arrives home only to discover… Until then, later!


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

-Thanks for the reviews! At first, I noticed that, I had TONS of hits…but few reviews. Given where this story is going, maybe that isn't a bad thing since maybe the people who weren't reviewing, were following the rule of 'If you don't have something positive to say, don't say it at all!' So, not having a ton of reviews could be a positive! Especially when the alternative might be…tons of flames!

-However, I have not gotten one negative review, constructive criticism or flames yet! Given that this is one of my oldest story ideas since I started seriously thinking about writing fanfiction, I'm glad that people are enjoying it so far!

-Now, rant mode on (like it wasn't on before. :-P), if you didn't read my profile before I cut it short (since this is now a real story and not an idea), you might be wondering how I got into Love Hina when I don't have all the mangas yet. Well, I did see Love Hina anime…six episodes of it at least (and they were all over the place with watching the beginning, end, and a few episodes in between). Not exactly the most dedicated fan now was I? Still, it led me to the fanfictions, and this was where I formed my idea for this story! It also made me hungry on seeing either the rest of the anime, or read all the mangas. I decided doing the latter would be easier, and would be what this story is based off of, so, here we are!

-Oh, and one last thing…while it is T rated now, given what I have planned, don't be surprised to see this M rated. Heck, if I really go overboard, maybe MA on another site! Yup! Dark!

-Well, before I continue ranting, and bore you with a long Author's Notes that I'm sadly known for, let's get this chapter started!

* * *

Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

"OKAY!" Keitaro said in a slightly scared voice. "Bye!" He quickly ran out and slammed the door behind him. He was about to take a step towards the stairs when he suddenly hesitated. 'I feel like I'm forgetting something…' His eyes widened as images of Naru's lovely face appeared in his mind. "Oh!" He spun around, unlocked and reopened the door. He looked in and saw Naru in the same position that he left her. Lying on the couch with a cup of lemonade next to her. "I'll see you tonight! Remember I love you!" He watched her smile for a moment before slamming the door shut again.

Keitaro took a deep breath. 'I love her so much. And I know she loves me too!' Keitaro thought as he started to muse the last few months. 'Even though at times, it seems like, she's forgetting that.' He quickly shook his head to get rid of that thought. 'Come on Keitaro! You can't be thinking that! Naru would never question their love!' Satisfied with his reasoning, he continued on his journey to the first floor, and onto his recently purchased white van that oddly enough, looked just like his mentor, Seta. Apparently Keitaro was looking up to his mentor a little TOO much.

That's when he noticed something odd parked just across the street from their apartment complex. Keitaro stopped in his tracks as he noticed a black mid-sized SUV on the street. He raised an eyebrow. "That SUV has been parked there for a few days now. I wonder who it could be?" 'Maybe…the Yakuza?'

Suddenly, Keitaro found himself daydreaming that very possibility. He, being the famous and 'adored' archeologist that he is, was whistling some non-descript tune while he headed towards his van. Out of nowhere, nasty looking men, all carrying katanas dressed in black suits with dark sunglasses surround him. Another woman, dressed in black and a cold looking expression in her eyes, held his lovely wife hostage. Keitaro, being the 'brave' man that he was, suddenly discovered that he's now sporting a yellow and black leotard, and was also carrying the demon-free Hina blade. The expression on his face was of sheer determination indicating that he was ready to kick ass and ask questions later! Keitaro began to spin around, fly up in the air, punch, kick, and slice to shreds those yakuza members with no mercy! Blood and body parts splattered everywhere! It was on the walls, the floors, and on the corpses as well! Oddly enough, he was remarkable clean. At the end of the battle, he found himself face to face with a girl in a schoolgirl uniform with a spiked ball of chain. Though before he could face her, Naru, despite being a hostage, was somehow able to send her fist straight to his face. All the while the word 'PERVERT' echoed in his mind.

That knocked Keitaro back into reality. He quickly shook his head as he remembered the daydream, and then turned his attention back to the SUV. He chuckled at himself for allowing his overactive imaginations to take over. "What was I thinking, Yakuza? Sheesh! I know my life has been crazy since my time as a ronin at the Hinata Sou, but that?"

Keitaro entered his van and sat for a few moments in order to calm his nerves. He shook his head and smiled. "I really need to stop watching those American action movies!"

He turned on the ignition and sped away.

-Meanwhile…

Inside Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

"Now you'd be a good girl and come with me, yes?" The man harshly whispered in her ear.

"Mmph!" Naru mumbled under the man's gloved hand. Suddenly, fear in Naru's eyes…turned into complete rage! She got one arm loose and quickly elbowed the man with it.

"Oft!" The man felt the wind being taken out from him, and reflexively loosen his hold over her.

Naru took this chance instantly as she spun around and, with the full force of her fist, made contact with the ski masked man. **POW!** It knocked the guy through the wall behind her!

Suddenly, right behind her, she heard footsteps were quickening their pace coming towards her.

A thinner ski masked man came trough the doorway and headed straight towards Naru.

Naru launched her fist into the newcomer. "NARU PUNCH!"

**POW! **The thinner ski masked man was sent through the wall behind him. His head was now inside the wall, with his butt sticking out of it. Dust and pieces of the dry wall fell all around him.

Naru nursed her fist. "That will teach you two to mess with a pregnant woman!" Naru turned away from the second man. A vein was throbbing on her forehead. "And to think I was scared of you two! Hmph!" Naru reached the counter and was about to pick up the phone to call the police when…a new sound reached her ears.

It was the sound of a blade being removed from its sheath.

Naru spun around to catch this new intruder. She raised her right arm up ready to strike.

Then there was a quick silvery blur.

"AH!" Naru feel to the ground as a sharp pain ran up her right arm. She grabbed and choked her right arm, as the pain seemed to intensify with each passing second. Tears formed at the edge of her eyes. She could feel the wetness trickle down her arm. She slowly opened her eyes to see the wound caused by this new intruder. Her eyes widened considerably when she sees her right hand.

Or more appropriately, what's left of her right hand.

Naru was in too much shock to react. She wanted to scream, but the sound was stuck in her throat. Her whole body was shaking in horror and in fear. Suddenly, her mind reverted back for the reason for the pain…

As drops of blood made soft tapping sounds in front of her.

She slowly turned her head up to see the face of her attacker. Her mouth fell open as she sees who it is.

Naru opened and closed her mouth several times as she tried to speak the words that kept dying in her throat. Finally, after a few moments, with all her courage, she forced those words to come out. "What…are you…why…why are you doing this?"

The woman in front of her only grinned maliciously. She brought her left index finger to her mouth and quietly shushed Naru. "Shhhhhhhh…"

Naru again opened and closed her mouth at the response she received. She was on the verge of hyperventilating when the attacker made another abrupt movement.

The blade the attacker was carrying rushed towards Naru!

"No!" Naru squeaked out as she quickly shut her eyes awaiting her fate.

-Later…

Tokyo University

"Come on Ema…you can do it!" Ema continued to say over and over again in the Todai hallway. In front of her were the test results for the entrance exams. Ema, who had been fighting with herself over whether or not she should see what the results were for the past few hours or so, was all alone in the mostly quiet hallway. "Just imagine it says that I passed! Yeah! Just keep thinking that, and it will come true!"

Of course, the meek conspiracy girl had been saying this for the past few years, over and over again. But when she opened her eyes and finally looked at the results, her little dream shattered each and every time. Despite the stories that she heard about the Hinata Sou, it seemed that the magic of that placed, wasn't rubbing off on her. 'Maybe I was too cursed!' She thought after each failure. Compared to all the other girls of the Hinata Sou, she certainly felt…left out in more ways then one. While Motoko, Shinobu, Kaolla, Mutsumi, and former residence Keitaro and Naru all attended Todai sometime in the past, she herself can't get in. The only reason why Kitsune never attended the due to the fact that she was the oldest of the group and had no intention of going to Todai in the first place.

And not only was her inability to pass the entrance exam her only flaw; she was certainly not as well endowed as Mutsumi, Motoko, Naru, and Kitsune. Heck, even the younger girls, Shinobu and Kaolla Su had bigger breast then hers. 'Why do I have to be so unlucky?'

At times, she even thought about giving up on this silly dream of going to Todai.

Except for one man, the former manager of the Hinata Sou continued to egg her on. He kept reminding her that he too, wasn't very successful in passing the entrance exam. He also reminded her about all the hardships that he had faced in the past. Yet, after years of persistence, he was finally able to succeed in realizing his dream. Heck, they even made a promise together. She will get into Todai, and he would become her first professor! He even promised not to be too hard on her!

At least, hard as in…him being strict to her in class. Given his experience of misunderstandings, he needed to make this final statement to her just incase certain girls were in the area.

And so, with that promise in hand, Ema continued to study as hard as she can. Going to cram school, having Motoko, Shinobu, and Su as mentors, and taking practice exams day in and day out.

And it all came down to this moment.

Just outside the hallway, after lecturing for four hours straight, and meeting students for another two, Keitaro's workday was finally over. With Finals coming up, his office hours were a little busier then usual. Even with his reputation of being an 'easy' teacher, a lot of students still wanted to clear a few things up before Finals.

Still, he was glad to see many young eager faces looking up to him. He was elated to see so many youngsters interested in archeology.

Keitaro yawned as he headed towards the exit. "It's been a long day. Can't wait to get back home and…" He suddenly stopped as he noticed a woman in the hallway. "Ema? What's she doing here so late?" Keitaro blinked until realizations hit him. "The results!" He got behind a wall and peered past the corner and waited for Ema to finally make up her mind.

Ema continued to walk around in circles. 'Each time, I was faced with disappointment. But this won't be the time! It won't! It won't! It won't!' She took a moment to look at the paper taped on the wall behind her, before she whirled her head away from it again. "But what if…" Ema gritted her teeth. "I can't take it anymore!" Ema ran up to the paper and prepared for the worst.

First, she looked at the bottom portion of the list, expecting her ID to be there. So far, she couldn't find it. 'Maybe I did so bad that they didn't even bother to record it?' Still, not giving up hope, her eyes slowly made it towards the top. "Ah, there it is." Ema said absentmindedly. "Second number from the top." She turned away, disappointed at herself. "Well, I didn't expect anything else." She said as she took a step away from the paper.

Keitaro slowly made a smile as he saw Ema's expression change when what she said sank in.

"See…see…seeeeee…second place?" Ema spun back to the paper and reexamined her placement on the Entrance Exam results. Sure enough, her ID was in second. "I did it." She said, still unsure if it was real. "I did it…I did it…I did it…" She kept repeating it for fear that if she stopped, it wouldn't be true. Finally, the moment truly dawned on her. "I PASSED!" She jumped up and down. "It's all true! The magic…it…it made even me a Todai student! My dream…my dream came true!" She began running out of the hallway. "I have to tell the others!"

Keitaro smiled at the departing girl. "I knew you could do it!" After seeing her go through the doorway, he continued on his trip to his van.

-Later…

Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

Keitaro unlocked the door to his apartment. "Naru! I'm home!" Keitaro cheerfully said expecting his lovely wife to answer back at him.

But the only sound that could be heard was the door screeching open.

Keitaro blinked in confusion. "Naru?" Slowly, fear built up from the bottom of his heart. He took a step forward. He looked from side to side. That was when he noticed another thing that was out of place. There was no lovely aroma from Naru's cooking filling the air.

Keitaro gulped. Something was wrong, VERY wrong. He slowly walked through the entrance. The apartment was quiet, TOO quiet. Only the squeaking sound of the floor can be heard. Everything seemed to be in its place. Until he flipped on the switch, illuminating the kitchen.

There were holes on the walls that were near both doorways that led to the kitchen. There was a trance of blood on the floor. A knife lay silent on floor for reasons Keitaro didn't want to think about. And one of the lower cabinets had a slit in it. There was also something on the floor that he couldn't quite make out at the moment. But whatever it was, small amounts of blood was coming out of it. If he looked closer, he might not be able to hold down his light lunch that he had in the afternoon.

Still, even without knowing what that last thing was, he knew something horrible had happened. His eyes widened at the full scene. "What…what happened here?"

"Oniichan!"

"Huhhaaaaa!" Keitaro took in a breath that was caught in his throat. He twirled around and saw a very familiar face. "Ka…Kanako?" Keitaro took a moment to calm himself down after being taken completely by surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you oniichan!" Kanako smiled at her 'brother'.

"That's…that's great!" Keitaro gave a shaky smile since he was still worried about Naru. Still, he was glad about this unexpected reunion. 'Maybe she knows what happened here?' Keitaro thought as he looked at his sister. "I haven't seen you since the funeral…"

Keitaro wasn't able to finish his statement as Kanako took out a small container and sprayed him with some sort of substance.

Keitaro felt his eyes grow heavy as he fell into unconsciousness. He slumped over Kanako who gingerly held him.

Kanako smiled and patted the unconscious man. She 'soothed' him in a low tone. "Don't worry oniichan! I'm going to make it all better."

-Meanwhile…

Tea Shop

"Shinobu!" Ema burst through the doors of the restaurant.

Everyone in the crowded restaurant stared at Ema.

Ema, uncomfortable with all the attention she was receiving, backed down a bit and gave a slightly embarrassed wave. "Um…hehehe…hi everyone?"

Kitsune, who was taking orders at the time, grinned at the meek little girl. "Shinobu is in the back cooking. But is it something only Shinobu needs to hear? Or can you tell me too?"

"No I mean…YES!" Ema freaked out a bit. She was still a little uncomfortable around people…even after three years living at the Hinata Sou. "I PASSED THE ENTRANCE EXAM!"

"WHOOHOO!" Kitsune raised her fist. "I knew you could do it Ema!" In reality, given how bad she was doing in the years prior to this, she wasn't so sure that she could. But, knowing the effect the Hinata Sou had on people, she still held out hope too. "I guess this means that we will have a PARTAH!" Kitsune then looked back at Ema.

Or, at least where Ema used to be.

"Huh?" Kitsune darted her eyes from one side of the room to the other. "Where did that girl go?"

In the kitchen, Shinobu was cooking up a storm. She yelled back to the new sous chef that they hired. "Sentaro! Get the duck ready!"

"Already got it done Shinobu!" Sentaro winked back at her.

Shinobu blushed at his action. "Tha…thank you! You've been…so good to us!"

"That's my job!" Sentaro smiled as he began cutting some vegetables.

"Shinobu!" Ema burst through the kitchen door.

"Aiee!" Shinobu dropped a plate of already prepared sushi to the ground. "Ano…"

"Eek!" Ema freaked when she saw what she did. She started bowing many times in a row. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry…"

"It's okay Ema!" Shinobu picked up the broken plate and ruined sushi. "It's not your fault! I really should've been more careful!"

"But…"

"No it's okay!" Shinobu replied. Living with Ema for the past few years, she really didn't want her to feel threatened in any way. Knowing her, Shinobu had seen her panic at some of the most mundane things. Maybe it was because she was, for most of her life, a social outcast that believed almost every conspiracy on the face of the earth. But for whatever reason, Shinobu felt that she needed to make sure that Ema was accepted into their little group. "It's no big deal! I can just make more!"

"But…"

"No more buts!" Shinobu commanded. While deep down inside, she was the same insecure girl of her youth, now, she was much more assertive. "This truly isn't that big of a deal!" Shinobu walked up to Ema and patted her on the back. "So please remember that!"

Ema looked down, unsure of herself. "Okay…"

"Good!" Shinobu smiled at her. "Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"

After hearing that, Ema's eyes lit up. "I PASSED THE ENTRANCE EXAM!"

Shinobu's eyes lit up as well. "Congratulations! I knew you could do it!"

"I just…can't believe it…" Ema noted. "I mean…it took me four times before and…"

"See?" Shinbou smiled at the young girl. "Since you kept by it, your dream came true!"

Ema smiled at that notion. 'It was true! I was ready to give up so many times before that…'

"By the way…" Shinobu started, interrupting Ema's thoughts. "Did you tell sempai yet?"

"Sempai?" Ema asked slightly confused. "Oh!" Ema exclaimed as she realized whom Shinobu was talking about. "No, I haven't told Keitaro yet…"

"Then we must tell him now!" Shinobu grabbed her hand as they exited through the kitchen door.

"Oh hey there you are!" Kitsune said as she saw Ema and Shinobu exit the kitchen. "I have the sake ready for the party!" Kitsune winked at them.

"Sake?" Shinobu looked at Kitsune oddly. "I thought you stopped drinking?"

"I decreased my intake Shinobu! Not stop!" Kitsune grinned. "And don't worry! I already informed Mutsumi about it so there wouldn't be any strange surprises!" 'At least, there won't be any strange surprises due to the party. Knowing the Hinata Sou, there are bound to be something out of the ordinary happening!'

"The manager?" Ema said as she stopped in front of Kitsune. "Wait, does that mean she…"

"Yeah…" Kitsune looked around. "Oh, I'm sorry! You wanted to tell her yourself?"

"No!" Ema quickly shook her arms in front of her. "I'm just…surprised that you did it so fast!"

"Yeah well…" Kitsune grinned. "When there's a need for a party, I'm the one to turn to!" Kitsune then stopped and notice that Shinobu was holding Ema's hand. "By the way, what are you two guys doing?" Kitsune gave another grin at the two. "You're not…into that stuff are you?"

"EEK!" Both girls screeched out as they let go of each other.

"No! No! No!" Shinobu repeated over and over again. "I'm just…taking Ema to Sempai…um…Keitaro so that Ema can tell him the good news!"

"Yeah! Tha..that's it!" Ema stuttered. "I'm going to tell Keitaro the good news!"

"So take care of the kitchen for us while we're gone!" Shinobu quickly said before she retook Ema's hand and ran out of the door with her.

"Hey what's the rush?" Ema said just moments before she was dragged out of the restaurant.

"Sure thing!" Kitsune said with a smile. A smile that didn't last after Shinobu's words sank in. "Wait a second…take care of the kitchen…" Kitsune looked at the patrons in the crowded restaurant.

Impatient patrons I might add.

"Uh…hehehe." Kitsune gave a slightly frighten wave. "Um…two seafood sukiyaki bowls right?" Kitsune gulped at the task that was given to her. 'I hope Haruka doesn't come back anytime soon!'

Subway Train

Ema made little circles with her thumbs. She was slightly shivering due to the anticipation of telling Keitaro the news. "Um, why didn't we just…call him?"

"Don't you want to see his expression when you tell him Ema?" Shinobu asked.

"I…I guess." Ema meekly replied.

"Nervous? Don't worry!" Shinobu gave a reassuring smile. "He's going to be so proud of you!"

"Yeah…" Ema said as she thought about the amazing man she was about to see again.

After a short moment of silence…Shinobu spoke up.

"I can't wait for Keitaro and Naru baby to be born!" Shinobu said excitedly. "It's going to be so wonderful!"

"Yeah!" Ema said as her eyes lit up. "I love babies and I certainly can't wait to see him!"

"It's amazing all the changes that has happened in our lives isn't it?" Shinobu said to Ema. Well, more to herself then Ema since she was reminiscing about the time she had spent at the Hinata Sou since the first day that she arrived. She was especially thinking about Keitaro who, despite all the time that went by, she still held a certain fondness over him.

"It is." Ema agreed. Though she was only thinking as far back as her recently passed Todai entrance exam. 'Maybe…that's not the only thing that will change!' She looked down at her…not so ample bosom. 'Maybe…just maybe…'

The train came to a full stop at the train station.

Streets of Yokohama – Near Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

Ema and Shinobu quietly walked towards Keitaro and Naru's Apartment.

Ema took a deep breath. The moment where she can tell Keitaro her news was fast approaching. "Keitaro once said that no matter the promise, it would be fulfilled no matter what!"

Shinobu nodded. "And all the promises sempai made, had been fulfilled!"

Ema looked at Shinobu questionably. "You don't think…Keitaro is some sort of magician do you?"

Shinobu gave a light giggle. "No! I don't think that! But…" She smiled at Ema before continuing. "It is definitely magical!"

Ema blinked in wonder. "Magical…"

At that moment…a black cat brushed along side them.

"Eek!" Ema jumped from side to side.

"It's just a black cat." Shinobu reassured Ema. "It's harmless. Besides, it's not Friday the Thirteenth either!"

"True…" Ema said as she was thinking the same thing. Then her eyes widened as she thought of something. "Black cat. That reminds me…didn't the previous manager own a black cat? Wasn't she…Keitaro's sister or something? Whatever happened to her?"

"Kanako Urashima?" Shinobu answered. "Yeah…adopted sister…" Shinobu cast her eyes down as she too, wondered the same thing. "Ever since Grandma Hina died, and when she left her position as the manager of the Hinata Sou, she just…disappeared."

"Hmm…" Ema was now in deep thought. "Maybe we should ask Keitaro about her."

"Sure." Shinobu replied. Though she wasn't sure if Keitaro would have any news about her. The last time Kanako was brought up, Keitaro didn't know anything. "But first, we tell him your news first!"

"Yeah!" Ema excitedly replied. "And then I can tell him that I will be in his class first thing in the…" Ema blinked as she realized that she doesn't know when Keitaro's classes are held. "Shinobu, do you have the Winter Semester schedule?"

"Hehehe." Shinobu giggled at the eager girl. "Sure thing! I'll give it to you right after…" Shinobu started to slow her pace as her eyes caught something that shouldn't be there. "We…meet…with…"

Ema saw Shinobu slow down. Concern started to build up in her. "Something wrong Shinobu?" She then turned her head forward and gasped at the scene in front of her.

Keitaro and Naru's Apartment complex was surrounded by police cars. The entire area was blocked off with police standing guard all around the apartment complex.

"Sempai?" Shinobu gave out a frightened response.

* * *

-------End of Chapter 2

While this chapter was easy to write, not having all the mangas still slightly impeded this story. Sure, this story is set after the mangas, but, well, to make this story consistent with said series, knowing all the little details is still important. For example, right now, I have no idea when the Todai Entrance Exams are taken (the mock exam and the exam themselves), and when the results are posted. While it might not be the most important detail for this story (given that the University will not play an important part of the story after the next chapter), given my desire to be as accurate as possible to both, the series and the real world system in Japan, things like this still go a long way. Heck, I even went to the official Tokyo University website in order to get some information. Though, even then, it wasn't a whole lot of help.

Note, since I'm not sure how the Japanese university system is like, I simply substituted the American system in the few times I will mention it (asides from the Entrance Exam of course). For example, Keitaro just got out of office hours in this last chapter. Do they have office hours in Japan? Don't know. Finals day, is it just a day, a week? Or do they substitute the last 'lecture' day as the time for examinations? Is it true for the Summer Session? Until I get more information about their system, I will leave it like this for the time being.

Heck, if I get even more time on my hands, I might even put REAL train numbers, REAL train stations, and Wards of where Keitaro and the gang live and so forth, instead of just generalities. I know the Hinata Sou is in the Kanagawa Prefecture. Heck, I even made the city that Keitaro and Naru live in as Yokohama. But beyond that…I'm stuck with generalities.

Oh, and Motoko, while I haven't introduced her yet, she WILL become very important in this story. Count on it.

One last rant before I close, the SUV (originally black van) was originally supposed to be a Naru discovery in the last chapter (she looked out the window while she was in the kitchen). Well, given how I tend to 'forget' small scenes like that until I post up the update, I decided to change it to a Keitaro discovery instead. I think it worked better in this case given that Keitaro wasn't under the same trepidation as Naru.

-Next Chapter…where has Keitaro been taken? Is Naru still alive? What does the other Hinata Sou do when their find out Keitaro is missing? Until then…later!


	3. Chapter 3

-This is Chapter 3 of "Brother's Keeper"!

-I started writing this during Winter Break. The hope being that I get SOMETHING out before the New Years after "Fullmetal Evangelion". Well, it is now 2006, and so, didn't happen!

-I'm still in the process of acquiring the mangas. Right now, I've added the one with Kanako to my collection; so, her characterization should be pretty fleshed out hopefully. If I get around to reading it of course (holding off since I always felt that reading it from the beginning through is better. But if that doesn't pan out…).

-Lastly…like the first chapter, there have been tons of hits (before the counter was reset)…but few reviews (all positive reviews, but still few reviews)! Since this is again, a darkfic, I guess that should be expected. For those that are not turned off with the coming darkness, thanks for reading, and thanks for your support!

-Oh yeah, and if you haven't already, read Hawker-748's story, "Ships in the Night", go do it right now! Great story that is based on my story idea that I mentioned in the first chapter, and that I have yet to write!

-Before I bore you with my rants, without further ado, on with the story!

* * *

Streets of Yokohama – Near Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

The police officer was not in a cheerful mood. It was nearing the end of his long shift that started with a brazen afternoon robbery at a nearby convenient store, a carjacking report that turned out to be false (the old lady just forget where she parked her car), and the ever so fun domestic disturbance call. In that case, he had to restrain the woman from seriously hurting her husband who had forgotten to take out the trash the night before. He could still feel the bruises that woman inflicted on him during her struggle to get free. 'Some people are just not meant to be together', he thought wearily.

He was looking forward to a nice long sleep in his modest twin sized mattress in his American style bed. Maybe even a long bath before it in order to forget the troubles of the day. But no, that plan was put on hold as he got a call from dispatch that sent all available units to this block. It appeared that a neighbor noticed a few black SUVs rushing out of the area. At first, this neighbor didn't think much of it until he noticed the door to an apartment occupied by a Keitaro Urashima, a national hero of sorts with his discoveries, and his wife Naru Narusegawa, was wide open. With much courage, the man called the police to report the incident given his fear that organized crime was involved. While there was no evidence so far that this was the doing of the Yakuza (especially given Ketiaro Urashima's fame throughout the country, and the world for that matter, it was questionable that they would target him. At least this blatantly), that possibility couldn't be discounted either. And if it were the Yakuza, and they found out that the neighbor witnessed more than he should have, lets just say that his body would've been found floating in a river…from an apparent 'accident' or possibly 'suicide' in short order.

Even so, he wasn't sure why there had to be this much police protection to an apparent kidnapping. 'So what if this Urashima guy was a national hero? No one should receive special treatment!' Of course, though he wasn't much into archeology that this Urashima guy was into, and why he was famous, he would be lying if he said he didn't know quite a bit about him. After all, he was all over the news, on newspaper headlines, on magazine covers, in documentaries, you name it, he was in it. Still, he didn't see what all the fuss was about. All he did was uncover some ruins in some country or other. Heck, they weren't even Japanese ruins either but from this country he had never heard of called Molmol. Recent rumors have had that this the princess of this nation was going to Tokyo University, but he never really cared about celebrity gossip (not that he mattered since he never knew this Molmol existed in the first place. Why would he care if the princess of said nation showed up in front of him?). Nonetheless, here he was, keeping curious onlookers, the media, and worried fans and students away. 'And speaking of worried fans, here comes some now.' He mused darkly.

A girl, around twenty or so, rushed up to him. Her short dark blue hair fluttered from side to side. Her eyes showed that of pure dread. She separated by mere inches. If he was in a different state of mind and situation, he might have actually found her quite attractive given that she had all the right curves in the right places, and possibly would've hit on her with one of his many 'mildly successful' pickup lines. But given said situation, and the fact that she was in full panic mode in front of him, this was neither the time nor the place. He took a deep breath before droning on with his official police statement. "Okay ma'am, please stay back. This is a police matter…"

"What happened?" The girl's frighten voice spoke through. "It had nothing to do with sem…Keitaro does it?"

'Fans. As I thought.' The police officer gave a nod. "Yes, it does concern Professor Urash…"

The blue haired girl was suddenly pushed to the side by another girl, this one not as tall, and as filled out as the other. She also had longer hair and was wearing glasses. "Something bad can't happen to Keitaro! He promised!"

The officer raised an eyebrow at the girl's odd statement. "Promised? Promised what?"

"He promised that he would be my Professor if I passed the Todai exam!" The meek little girl replied in a panicky voice.

A huge sweatdrop appeared on the officer. 'And now we have a student.' The officer rolled his eyes. 'I'm also sure that there is something more important right now. Like his safety that she should be concerned about. Anyways…' "I'm sorry, but we just don't know…"

"Let us through!" The girl with long hair and glasses tried to go around the officer. "We have to see him!"

"Keitaro can't be hurt!" The blue haired girl also tried to push her way through the barricade.

The officer grabbed both women by the waist. 'Great, now I'm restraining TWO girls! NOT what how I've wanted to spend my evening.' "I can't let either of you through." He said with little pizzazz. He really wanted to be anywhere, BUT here. "You can't interfere with an ongoing police investigation." Carrying the two girls, he walked over to a street corner. "Now please calm down." After a few moments, the two girls finally calmed down. He lowered them onto the corner and let them go. "Now, mind telling me your names?"

"Shinobu." The blue haired girl quietly answered. "Shinobu Maehara."

The other girl looked up and stared into the officer's eyes. "Ema Maeda."

"I see." The officer nodded. "I take it that you two know Professor Urashima?" He watched as both nodded in affirmation before he continued. "Just let the forensics team continues their work. If you have any pertinent information, you can let Inspector Ishikawa over there know about it." He pointed to said man who was currently interviewing a few of the onlookers. "Otherwise, it would be better if neither of you interfere. It could help us find out what happened to Professor Urashima and Misses Naruse…"

"SOMETHING HAPPENED TO NARU TOO?" Shinobu and Ema cried out after the mention of her name.

"But…why?" Tears were now forming around Ema's eyes. "She was…I mean, she's pregnant! Who would do something to her?"

"Pregnant?" The officer sighed again. 'Shit. Can this get any worse?' "I can assure you that we are doing everything we can to figure out what happen. Now please calm down…"

"What exactly happened to them?" Shinobu panicky asked, her voice quivering with each word. "Are they…were they…mu…mu…mur…"

The officer quickly shook his head, easing the girl's fears a bit. "No. As much as I can say…they appeared to have been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" The two girls again yelled out at full volume, hurting the poor officer's ears. "Who? Why? Why Keitaro? And why Naru? Why now?"

"We don't know." The officer replied. He looked at the two, and then at Inspector Ishikawa. 'Well, I don't think he should see them in this state. Might as well as the questions for him then.' "Now, do you two have any information that could help us in the investigation? Even something minor could be important."

After a moment of silence, where both girls again calmed down, Ema lightly shook her head. "I do know that…he…he was teaching a class today."

"I see." The officer took out a notepad. "Do you know when his class ended?"

"I'm not quiet sure. I think maybe around seven?" Ema said trailing off a bit, as she was unsure if that was correct.

"Okay. Now, do you know if he goes home right after class ends or not?"

"No." Shinobu said jumping into the conversation. "At least, not every time. I do know that he has office hours after class."

"Hmm." The officer nodded lightly. "We can get information from Tokyo University to help confirm this. Thanks by the way. This will help us greatly when coming up with a timeline of events." He then looked up from his notes back to the girls. "Oh, and is there anything else that you can think of that could be helpful to us?"

Both girls lightly shook their head.

"Well, if there is anything you can think of, please feel free to talk to Inspector Ishikawa." The officer pointed to the man that looked every bit the part of an inspector, with his brown long coat, bald, and wearing a mustache. The only thing missing might be a bowler cap covering his head. The officer then returned his attention to the girls. "Otherwise, I suggest going home, and leaving the rest to us." He closed his notepad and started walking to said person. "Oh, and before I forget, my name is Tomoko Kawakami! If you need any help, just call me." The officer gave them his business card before heading off to talk to the Inspector.

The two girls watched the tired officer stagger his way to the Inspector before either of them spoke up. Shinobu had to admit, that the officer was kind of cute. However, she pushed those thoughts out immediately when they came to being since this was neither the time, nor the place for them.

"We have to tell the others!" Shinobu said as she watched the many officers go in and out of Keitaro's and Naru's apartment.

"But…but…but what are we going to tell them?" The panicky Ema replied shakily. "I mean we can't…"

"But we have to. The others have to know before…" Shinobu looked off to the side and noticed a television camera and a reporter standing in front of the barricade. 'They have to know before they find out through the news!' She got up and took out her cell phone and called the first person she could think of.

"Hello Shinobu!" Kitsune cheerful voice sounded on the other side of the line. "So, how did the lug take it?"

"Kitsune…he…he…Sempai and Naru-sempai have been kidnapped!" Shinobu shakily said.

Tea Shop

"Come again?" Kitsune replied, still slightly cheery, despite the gallons of sweat dripping down from her face, and the tons of food stains on her clothes that weren't there just a few minutes ago. She did, after all, have to keep her image as a carefree fun loving girl, even if her aching back wasn't helping any. "I thought you just said that they were kidnapped."

"That's what I said." Shinobu quietly said.

"Tell me you are joking Shinobu." Kitsune said, her smile now completely faded, and a sickening feeling was coming over her. While she hoped that was the case, knowing Shinobu, her hope was near nil.

"NO!" Shinobu cried out on the other side of the line. "I'm serious! Keitaro and Naru…they have been kidnapped!"

Kitsune wasn't sure how to react. This was not the news that she wasn't expecting to hear, nor hoped to hear. The mask she put up obviously shattered at that moment. "Okay, um…let me tell the others. You…umm…do something."

"Okay…" Shinobu quietly replied before Kitsune heard the click.

Kitsune's shoulders sank. She was anticipating throwing the party for Ema back at the Hinata Sou. Especially with all the work she had to do once Shinobu dumped it all on her. 'Damn that girl works hard! Even with the extra help, I could barely keep up with the orders! And it's almost closing time!' Kitsune shook her head. 'And then, she dumps this on me! Great.' She kept the phone to her ear and dialed the number to the Hinata Sou. 'I hope this is Keitaro's way of revenge against all that we've done to him since he arrived at the Hinata Sou.' After a few seconds of ringing, she hears a familiar voice on the other end.

"Moshi Moshi!" Mutsumi's voice rang through. "Hinata Sou dormitory. How can I be of service?"

"Mutsumi, it's me." Kitsune replied, without the zeal in her voice that she usually has.

"Ara, is something wrong?" Mutsumi said, noting that Kitsune wasn't sounding her usual self.

"Are you sitting down?" Kitsune asked before she continued.

"Huh?" Mutsumi said with slight confusion.

"Nevermind." Kitsune said, shaking her head. She took a deep breath before she continued. "Keitaro…has been kidnapped."

"Kei-kun has been KIDNAPPED?" Mutsumi cried out at the shocking news.

"And Naru…"

"Naru TOO?" A plopping sound suddenly rang through the phone.

"Hello? Mutsumi are you there?" Kitsune slapped herself on the forehead. "I should've told her in person." She looked at the remaining customers in the restaurant. "Okay everyone! Everyone out! Restuant is closed until further notice!" After a few glaring stares, she growled. "I said out!" She waved her arms trying to get them out of there fast.

Hinata Sou

Motoko was sitting in her sparsely furnished room, polishing her katana. The smell of the oil permeated throughout the room. As she took great care slowly polishes the blade, making sure that she gave the right amount, her mind however was on a different matter. 'I hope the new students can handle the routines. This new group that just came in…I'm not so sure.'

Earlier in the day, a new group of eager young students enrolled in her dojo. Given that this was her summer vacation from her studies at Tokyo U, and always welcomed the extra money it brought in, she gladly welcomed them at first. All were eager to start 'playing with swords' so to speak. All female of course given that Motoko was still weary about teaching a male, this despite her more forgiving nature towards them (all thanks to Keitaro). And that included the ones that came from the local primary school. And given how even this group of female students turned out, her bias again teaching them was greater. 'If the females are like this, I shiver at the thought of what it would be like to teach a male.' This group, much to Motoko's concern, had no concept of what it truly meant to be a swordwomen. After she lectured about honor and loyalty to the sword, the students complained that they didn't sign up for that, and only wanted to 'play with blades'. While she was happy that they were interested in the sword, they were also interested in the wrong aspect of it. 'I can't teach these ingrates!' Her resolve was solidified when she began doing some basic routines with the bokens. 'Half the group ignored my orders, the other half simply whined that they weren't using the real thing!' From her estimation, only one or two of this group will be around by the end of the week before she starts kicking them out and probably bans them from ever entering her dojo. 'What's wrong with kids today?'

The sound of the front door bursting open outside her room interrupted her thoughts. She zeroed in on where the sound came from with great interest. "Who could that be?" She wondered as she put the bottle and rag down, and got up from her position. She picked up her sword and placed it in its sheath just incase the intruder wasn't one of the residence. She slowly opened the door and glared down the hallway.

She calmly walked down the hallway, and made her way down the stairs, fully alert to anything that would be amiss. She was taken aback when she noticed someone lying on the floor. Unconscious. "Mutsumi!" She rushed up to her and held the anemic girl up in a sitting position. She lightly shook the girl in the hope of getting her to wake up. "Mutsumi! Answer me!"

Mutsumi's eyes slowly open. "Ara…"

"What happened?" Motoko asked concerned. While it wasn't rare to see the girl faint, given that no one was in the room to 'save' her this time, it was quite distressing.

"Ara?" Mutsumi zoomed her head from side to side. "I don't remember! Last thing I remember was something about Keitaro and Naru…"

"Are kidnapped!" Kitsune said between long pants.

"Aiee!" Motoko instinctively reached for her sword at the sudden interloper.

"Whoa!" Kitsune covered her face. "It's just me Motoko!"

Motoko slowly let go of the hilt and frowned. Both, for the fact that Kitsune was able to sneak up on her, and what she just said. "What do you mean by kidnapped?"

"I mean just that." Kitsune said with a deep frown. "They have been kidnapped!"

"Kidnapped?" Mutsumi eyes closed as she slumped into Motoko's arms.

Kitsune sighed at the now fainted girl.

Motoko eyed Mutsumi again and shook her head. However, she now had a more worrisome situation on her hand. "This isn't some sort of…"

"Believe me, I wish it was." Kitsune said shaking her head. "But unless Shinobu developed a cruel sense of…"

"Hiya Kitsune!" Su, despite being around twenty, bounced into the room like a child.

Kitsune however, was not in the mood for her antics. "Su…I have something to tell you…"

"That Keitaro and Naru have been kidnapped?"

"Yes…" Kitsune's eyes then widened. "Wait, you knew? How? Did you overhear?"

"It's all over the news on all the major networks!" Su said as she pointed to the television.

Kitsune and Motoko both turned to the television. Any hope that this was some sick joke ended that instant.

On the screen, a television news reporter was standing in front of the complex that they have all been familiar with since Keitaro and Naru moved out of the Hinata Sou. The reporter was constantly shifting her attention from the camera to the scene behind her as she tried to speak in a calm but serious tone. "…we don't have much information right now! All we know is that Tokyo University Professor Keitaro Urashima and his wife Naru Narusegawa…"

-Later…

Streets of Yokohama – Near Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

"You have to let us through!" Su cried to officer Tomoko, who had a number of officers backing him due to this new influx. Her eyes were on the verge of tears.

"Could you just let us see?" Shinobu pleaded. "We promise not to…"

Tomoko took a deep breath. The night just didn't seem to end. "Look, you can all just stop it right now! We don't care that you're friends of Professor Urashima and his wife, no one is allowed in or out of that apartment at this moment except law enforcement. Who knows what evidence you might compromise! Now, unless you have something that could pertain to the investigation, all of you should take my advice and just go home!"

Inspector Ishikawa frowned after he saw the commotion. He then bustled his way to where Tomoko was and yelled his disapproval. "What's going on here? Why the hell do we have six officers in this location?"

"I'm sorry sir." Tomoko bowed slightly to the Inspector. "But this group refuses to leave. Especially these two who I have already spoken to earlier." He gave a disapproving glace at Shinobu and Ema.

"Eep!" Ema squeaked out in fear and started to sputter out her words. "Well, you see…I wanted to go but…"

Shinobu instantly covered Ema's mouth. "But we had to find out what happened to Keitaro!"

The Inspector simply rolled his eyes at Shinobu's comments. "What do you think we've been doing for the last two hours or so?" His eyes flashed with rage.

"Um, Inspector…" Tomoko butted in trying to calm down the older man. "Remember watch your blood pressure sir. And, about them, just keep in mind that they are just worried. I would be too in this situation. But again…" He glared at the group with a disapproving frown.

"We can find Keitaro!" Su said confidently. "We've done it before, we will do it again!"

The Inspector took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he responded to the dark skinned girl. He crossed his arm in disbelief at who he could obviously see was a foreigner. "Look, you might have been able to find Professor Urashima during some silly hide and seek game, but this is completely serious matter!"

"But it wasn't just a game!" Shinobu cried out. Tears were now forming around the rims of her eyes.

"That is true!" Su yelled concurring with what Shinobu said. "I have my ways of finding him." Su turned back and looked up into the eyes of the swordswoman. "Isn't that right Motoko?"

Motoko eye's shifted between the ones that were speaking. At the moment, the most talkative were Su and Shinobu, as well as the warn out officer, and the inspector on their side. Kitsune had kept quiet since she didn't have much to offer. Mutsumi didn't speak since she was, well, Mutsumi. If she did speak, it probably would actually be detrimental to whatever they wanted to accomplish. Speaking of which, she was unclear what they were trying to accomplish at this point. The original intention of getting as much information about what the police knew was abandoned when it became clear that they were unwilling to give up any new information beyond what they knew from the media as well as Shinobu and Ema. But instead of going home defeated, Su wanted to play (the word used lightly here given the seriousness of the situation) detective and join in on the investigation. While she was deeply worried about the situation of Keitaro and Naru, and would do almost anything in her power to find them and deal punishment to their captors, at the same time, she knew that preventing law enforcement from doing their job wasn't exactly wise move on their part either.

Now that the attention was focused on her, she had no choice but to respond. "While I still have my misgivings about interfering in your important work, what she says is true. Su had…invented quite a few devices that have been successful in tracking down Professor Urashima when he was still the manager of the Hinata Sou."

Inspector looked at Motoko unconvinced. "So you're saying this girl…" He looked at Su and noted her age. "This…foreigner… Invented a machine that can track down Professor Urashima…while he was still manager of the Hinata Sou? If memory serves me right, that would be around five to ten years ago."

"Around that time correct." Motoko lightly nodded. While she didn't appreciate people questioning her, nor people that seem to have an obvious bias against 'foreigners', she had to admit that what she was saying was still pretty amazing. And that didn't include the years of adventures they had spent together with the former manager where, if there was a novel written about them, no one would believe it if it was in the non-fiction section. After all, with the exception of a few adventures, like the ones dealing with Molmol, most of the particularly wild ones have stayed within the confines of the Hinata Sou and its residence. To put it simply, whatever happens in the Hinata Sou stays in the Hinata Sou, or within their group or…whatever.

The Inspector sighed and shook his head as he tries to keep his temper in check. "Look, even if I somehow believe all of this…then what? Let's say you DO find them and their kidnappers. What are you going to do to them?" He then noted the sword on placed firmly on her side. "Are you planning on some sort of vigilante justice here?"

"Well…we…" Shinobu looked down at her feet as she suddenly realized that she hadn't really thought that far ahead. "We will tie them up…so that you can take them?"

"Ara…" Mutsumi finally spoke up. "That reminds me of a story about Liddy-Kun and the burglar…"

"All we wanted was to help." Motoko cut in before Mutsumi continued on her usual stories about Liddy-Kun that always ended badly.

"Then you can help us by not interfering." The Inspector rubbed his forehead could feel a headache approaching. "Look, we're not doing this because we are a bunch of assholes, we are doing this because we are concerned about the safety of not only Professor Urashima and Misses Narusegawa, but yours as well! As we have said before, we have no clue who did this, how many, nor do we know how dangerous they are. We can't risk anymore innocent lives to come into harms way."

Su sniffled. "But we…"

"I said no!" The Inspector, his patience cracked, bellowed at Su, causing her to shrink down. "Now, if you have anything that could help with this case, you can come to the station and talk about it! Otherwise, you should all go home and wait for us to finish our job!" As the Inspector shoved Tomoko away and started to leave the group, the police behind him formed a line that completely blocked any of the girls just in case any of them didn't take up the Inspector's advice.

Tomoko sighed and shook his head at the situation. "You heard the man…"

The group walked half a block away from the barricade before they all stopped to assess their next move.

Kitsune raised her hand in the air in defeat. "I told you that this wouldn't do any good."

Motoko eyed Kitsune with suspicion. "Don't you mean what I said?"

Su, who was still staring at the apartment complex, spun around and wiped a tear off from her face. Her eyes were immediately dry and her expression changed instantly to that of determination, indicating that her previous cry fest wasn't exactly genuine. Though she is concerned about Keitaro and Naru, and absolutely sickened of what could possibly have happened to them, she wasn't an emotional wreck either. Unfortunately for her, the police officers were unmoved, forcing her to think of a plan B. She slammed her right fist into her hand. "We have to get into that apartment at all cost!" At first, she thought about building a boring machine that would go throught the earth, and into Keitaro's and Naru's apartment, but that would take too much work. Not to mention all the attention that would bring would certainly not be positive. There was another option, but she wasn't sure if she should do it…

"And once you get into their apartment, then what?" A certain woman said to the side of the group.

"Well…I…umm…" Su said trailing off, she hasn't thought that far ahead. She was certain there was a clue to Keitaro and Naru's whereabouts in there. She just needs to get it before the police do! Suddenly, her eyes widened as the voice sounded very familiar to her. She instantly shot her head at the woman.

The others also recognized the voice and they all shot their head to her. "HARUKA?"

Haruka was wearing a normal dress shirt, and long brown pants. Her hair was the same short length, and a cigarette was hanging from her mouth. She leaned on a nearby vehicle that was presumably hers. "Hi girls." She said in her mostly emotionless voice.

"Oh Haruka! It's so great to see you!" Shinobu rushed up to greet her, opening her arms and hugging her. Seeing no reaction from Haruka, other than another puff from her cigarette that was dangling in her mouth, Shinobu backed up and blushed at her rash action. "Um…"

"Ara!" Mutsumi was the next to hug Haruka. "This is a great surprise!"

Haruka eyed Mutsumi with suspicion. 'Didn't change I see.'

"Um, hi Misses Urashima! Or is it…um…Misses Noriyashi?" Ema hesitantly said.

"Haruka is just fine." Haruka said to the newest member of the Hinata gang. She crossed her arms as her eyes seem to darken.

"So I take it the dig is finished? Where's Seta and Sarah?" Kitsune cheerfully said as she scanned the nearby surroundings for them. Kitsune was glad to have her foxy grin on her face, if only for a moment given what happened behind her.

Haruka glared Kitsune with cold dead eyes, causing Kitsune to lose just said grin. "No, the dig is not finished. And no, they are not here."

"Not here?" Kitsune said in a lower less cheery tone. "Um, something happen?" Kitsune cautiously said, hoping not to draw her ire by probing into something she wasn't supposed to be in.

"You could say that." Haruka said, taking a deep drag from her cigarette.

"Um, why are you here then?" Motoko cautiously said, hoping not to upset the older woman.

"Let's just say Seta and I have a few _issues_ that need to be worked out." Haruka's usually emotionless expression was shattered a bit as she deeply frowned. Her fingers dug into her forearm. "So I decided a break from it all would be in order, and I decided a visit home would be in order, to see how the tea shop was going, and how our favorite couple is doing." She eyed the apartment complex for a moment before returning her attention to the group. "Obviously, those plans have definitely changed."

"Yeah." The girls collectively murmured.

"But we will get them back!" Su raised her fist with zeal. "And with you back, you can help convince law enforcement to let us into their apartment! Right?"

Haruka stared at Su for a moment, before she responded. "I was actually thinking that we should just let the police do their job."

"My sentiments exactly." Motoko nodded. "As concerned as I am about their well being, it is wise not to interfere."

"But Haruka!" Shinobu cried out at her. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"We are not." Haruka eyed the blue haired girl. "We're simply staying out of the way of those that I believe are perfectly capable of finding them."

"But what if they are too late?" Mutsumi spoke up, causing everyone to turn to her. "What if some group of people kidnapped them so that they would be sacrificed to the turtle god in two weeks? What if right now, they are removing the organs and…"

"That's enough!" Huraka said as she shook her head in disbelief. 'Where does she come up with this stuff?'

"Sa…sa…sacrificed?" Shinobu shakily replied.

"I'm pretty sure that's not the case Shinobu." Haruka took a deep drag, and puffed out a long think smoke into the air. "Look, it is better for us if we just wait for the police to do their job. I'm sure it will all turn out well in the end."

Su dropped her head as her expression darkened. "Not acceptable."

Motoko placed an arm over Su's shoulder. "Su, I know it is difficult, but…"

"No!" Su slapped Motoko's hand away, a move that shocked the swordswoman into backing up. "We have to find them before something bad happens!" She spun around and started walking back to where the police officers were. "Yokohama Police! You have to let me through! For I am the Princess of Molmol and we demand justice!"

* * *

-------End of Chapter 3

I posted a progress report on Shinji Sharing Inc. Forum to see what others will say about it, and so far, despite 97 or so hits, no one has replied with a comment, question, or concern. I'm going to be cautiously optimistic and think that they had nothing bad to say about it, and that I'm on a perfectly good track with this story, just didn't say anything about it. Of course, the other rule might apply and that they didn't say anything since it stinks, but I'm trying not to think about that. :-P

I'm also going out on a limb and say that, I think this is probably my 'best' written story so far. FAR from perfect, but still, the 'best'! Why? Well, probably because my vocab is much greater (thanks to an online Thesaurus) and my skill at 'showing not telling' has also greatly improved. Plot wise is another matter entirely, though it is probably my most thought out story if that means anything. Now, it is far from my most popular story (that being "Fullmetal Evangelion" followed by "Silent Titan") and I could probably blame that on it being a darkfic (not to mention the fact that it only has three chapters after this one). Still, it is a personal favorite of mine and I hope everyone still reading enjoys it!

I had expected to go a little further than this bit, but to keep the chapters at a similar length (around 4000-5000 words or so).

Oh, and this chapter, at the moment, is still considered to be a WIP if only since things can change once I get…(and what is starting to sound like a broken record at this moment), the rest of the mangas. ESPECIALLY characterization. While I'm glad to have finally started this story after Volume 14, not having the others…well, as I've said before, still hinders this story at the moment. Also, though I somewhat know the ages of the girls after Volume 14, and a semi-idea of how far in the future it is, I'm still holding off on given exact dates and so forth until…(hmm. Now what do I want to say? Something to do with the mangas and getting them…?).

-Next Chapter…Does Su gets her way and enters Keitaro's and Naru's Apartment? What about Keitaro and Naru? Until then…later!


	4. Chapter 4

-This is Chapter 4 of Brother's Keeper!

-I know I said that my "Conflicted Hearts" story would probably get an update before this one but, well, I just couldn't hold off on this chapter any longer!

-And again, tons of hits…not so many reviews. However, it is becoming quite clear to me that I am getting a bit of a following for this story. So while it isn't my most reviewed story there are people out there that I know still read this fic, and possibly enjoy it (after all, if they didn't, why do I still have so many hits for all three chapters? Unless they are torturing themselves, I'm going to assume they are enjoying it. :-P).

-Without further ado, on with the story!

* * *

Streets of Yokohama – Near Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

Tomoko could feel his eyes grow heavy when a female voice pieced through his consciousness. He shook his head frantically as he tried to remain alert at his surroundings. As he zeroed in on the approaching figure, he could feel another weight placed on his shoulder. "Not them again." He looked up and stared his tired eyes at the young woman in front of him. "What was it that you said?"

"That I am the Princess of Molmol and I demand access to Keitaro and Naru's apartment!" Su said as she glared menacingly at the officer.

Tomoko gave her an unbelieving shake. "Right. Princess of…" Suddenly, his fatigue vanished for the moment as her words finally hit him. "Molmol?" His mind started to put the pieces together. 'It's why Keitaro is famous after all. Could it be that…' "So what you're saying is, the rumors were true? That you are Princess of that Molmol place and that you have been living here along side Professor Urashima?"

"Su, you don't have to do this." Shinobu pleaded next to her. Fear was etched into her face, as she knew what this could mean for Su if she exposed who she was, especially now since Keitaro made Molmol a household name. "I'm sure there's another way…"

Su ignored Shinobu's pleading and continued. "Yes!" Su crossed her arms in determination. "And I am here to make sure that Keitaro Urashima and his wife Naru Narusegawa are both found and brought back to safety!"

Haruka eyed the news camera crew. Unsurprisingly, they were now focused on them. 'This can't be good.' "Looks Su, I don't think…"

"Didn't I tell this group to leave already?" The agitated Inspector growled at the sight of them as he stormed back to where Tomoko was. "All you are doing is…"

"You must let me through!" Su glared at Inspector Ishikawa in stern seriousness that stunned the Hinata group. "As Princess of Molmol, I am the representative of the Molmol government! And the safety Keitaro Urashima and Naru Narusegawa are of great interest to us given the work that he has done!"

The Inspector shook his head in disbelief. While he might accept the idea that this dark skinned girl was from this Molmol place, and would explain why Professor Urashima had contact with them, but to go a step further and to actually be talking to the Princess? Sure he heard the rumors and speculation, but someone of that great importance, standing in front of him without some sort of official protection, asking to be let in on a kidnapping case? His head was spinning around just trying to get the first fact through. "Okay. Let's say you ARE the Princess of this, Molmol place. So what? This is our country and our jurisdiction! It's called sovereignty. You can't just barge into a domestic criminal investigation and demand to be let in! Princess or no Princess!"

'I've never seen her like this before!' Motoko thought in amazement as she moved in next to Su. "Su, he's right." She said in a low tone, trying to calm down the normally carefree Princess of Molmol. "This isn't Molmol! We have our own set of laws that…"

"Stop!" Su snapped at Motoko, causing the older woman to back up a bit. "I know what I'm doing." She then spun her head back to the officers. "Everything will be taken care of very soon! Right now, our diplomats are meeting with the top officials of the Japanese government!"

The female reporter whirled back to the camera. "You've heard it here first as another strange turn of events has occurred! The rumors are apparently true and that the Princess of Molmol was here in Japan all along! And Princess…yes?" She holds her earpieces closer to her ear as she tries in vain to understand what her producer was saying through the loud commotion happening around her. "Princess Kaolla Su! Yes! Her name, Kaolla Su, who had apparently been living with the now famous Professor Urashima for around 10 years now…"

Haruka took out another cigarette, lit it, and placed it in her mouth. 'I hope you know what you're doing Su because any hope of privacy you had in this country is gone now.'

Motoko also saddened at that fact. 'Su, you really want to see them safe do you? I understand but, are you sure this is right? Now there is no turning back.'

"Alright!" Kitsune brightly smiled. "Way to go…Su?" Kitsune blinked her eyes as something occurred to her. "Wait, just a few minutes a go you just…" She pointed to where she first made her proclamation, and then pointed to where Su was currently standing. "…and then…you're saying that the diplomats are already…"

"Right. You're telling me that…" Suddenly, a ring was heard coming from the Inspector's coat. The Inspector reached into his coat and took out his phone. He gazed at the telephone number on the screen in astonishment. 'What the?' He flipped his phone and placed it to his ear. "Inspector Ishikawa here, who is this?" There was a pause. Ishikawa raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "The Minister of Justice? What…" His eyes further widened. "By whose order!" Another pause occurs as his jaw dropped considerably. "The Prime Minister? But, why! This girl, even if she is…" Another pause. "I know that she's a Princess! Well I do now, but…" After another pause, Ishikawa grinded his teeth in stupefied disinclination. "Fine! I'm going to let her through! And a good day to you too!" Ishikawa slammed his phone shut and placed it back into his coat pocket. He rubbed his forehead before looking up at the Princess in front of him. "I can't believe what I'm going to say to you but…the Japanese government fully extends its hands in cooperation with Molmol authorities." He looked up, then to his surroundings and noted that she was the only Molmolese that he could see. "I'm going to assume that would be you…"

Kaolla Su smiled brightly. "Your cooperation has been fully appreciated! Now that we are partners…"

"Hold it right there!" Ishikawa raised his hand to block her. "First, WE are in charge of this investigation since this is OUR country! Second, my orders are to allow YOU to be a part of the investigation. Since we can't allow any contamination of the scene…" He glared at Ema who withered at his gaze, then at Su who did the same, then at Mutsumi who innocently waved and smiled at him, and then at Kitsune who simply rolled her eyes away. "I don't want any potential evidence tossed because of one of their mistakes!" He then glared at Su who stared her unflinching eyes at him in defiance. "It's bad enough I'm allowing you in…" He muttered under his breath.

"Okay!" Su gave a victorious grin to him. "However, can I at least bring two of my friends?" She indicated to Motoko and Haruka behind her.

"Me?" Motoko raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Why? What would I do?"

"And why me?" Haruka the normally emotionally neutral woman blinked in dismay at Su's request. "What good would I be in there?"

"Oh, just so you two could keep me company!" Su innocently replied.

'So, the fact that we're the ones trying to stay out of it had nothing to do with this?' Haruka wondered. Finally, she reluctantly nodded her head. "Very well. I will accompany you."

"As will I." Motoko sighed as she gripped her sword. "Supposing that the police will allow us access first."

Inspector Ishikawa raised his hands in defeat. "Fine. I'll allow it. I'm sure miss little Princess would somehow be able to convince the Minister of Justice, the National Police Agency, Prime Minister, heck, possibly even the Emperor of Japan into letting them in anyways."

"Um, what about me?" Ema quietly spoke up. "I mean, I've been investigating paranormal activities. Wouldn't my investi…"

"No." Haruka said, effectively cutting off the meek girl's response.

"Eep!" Ema withered again. "Okay, I'll stay here."

"Officer Kawakami will lead the way." Inspector Ishikawa was about to leave when he noted the cigarette hanging off of Haruka's lips. He then glared at Haruka and pointed at the cigarette.

"I get it." Haruka dropped the cigarette and crushed it with her feet. "Now do you have some gloves for me to use?"

The Inspector handed her some gloves and was about to do the same with Motoko when he eyed what was on Motoko's waist. "Are you going to be carrying that inside?"

"Is that a problem?" Motoko narrowed her eyes at him.

"No. I guess not." The Inspector then eyed Su. "You ready… 'Princess'?"

"Yup!" Su picked up two large cases next to her. "I'm ready!"

"Oka…" The Inspector's words were caught in his throat as he just noticed the two cases next her. "Wait, where the hell did you get those? And what are they!"

"Something that will help the investigation!" Su innocently smiled.

"But where…" The Inspector rubbed his forehead again. "Okay, never mind! Let's just get going!"

'And the night just never ends.' Officer Tomoko thought groggily.

-Later…

Keitaro's and Naru's Apartment

Motoko gasped as she saw the damage in the kitchen, a place that once held many happy memories when she visited Keitaro and Naru from time to time. "What could possibly have happened in here!"

Su eyes narrowed considerably. "Whoever did this, is going to pay!"

"Umm…" Tomoko raised his hand. "The prevalent theory is that, Miss Narusegawa was the one that did this."

"Eh?" Motoko and Su swiveled their heads to Tomoko.

"Well…" Tomoko pointed to the corresponding holes in the walls. "We found hair and skin follicles all around there. Early results from the lab show that they are both male in origin."

"Oh." Motoko and Su both said with slight embarrassment.

"At least we know that she didn't go down without a fight." Motoko smiled at that thought. "Supposing that neither one is Keitaro's…"

"Well, unless it was an accident, we're assuming that as well." Tomoko said offhandedly. "Not to mention that the timeline doesn't fit…" He then raised an eyebrow when he noticed the girls were all stifling a giggle. "Was it something I said?"

Haruka had a slightly playful smile on her face. "Let's just say, that when it comes to 'accidents', our Keitaro has been quite known for them. Now, please continue officer."

"Oh…ummmm…well…" Tomoko cleared his throat before continuing. "At first we weren't sure if that really was Miss Narusegawa that caused this…since looking at the amount of damage, she would've been quite strong." Tomoko scratched his head as he examined how deep the holes in the wall were. One almost went through to the next room. Even the heavy wooden stud was snapped in half. "We suspect that the one that hit the wall on the right was a little heavier in build than the one on the left, but still, even with that in consideration, that must've been one powerful punch!"

Haruka grinned further as she examined the wall. "And that's Naru for you!"

"Hmm." Tomoko rubbed his chin as he thought about the other resident of this apartment. 'If this is what her punches are like, I sure don't want to be in Professor Urashima's shoes when he forgets to take out the trash…'

Su stepped into the kitchen and frowned. "They still got her though." She was about to take another step forward when she noted a red substance on the floor. Her heart became heavy as she realized what it was. "This blood isn't from the abductors is it?"

"No." Inspector Ishikawa said as he entered the apartment. "We found a knife where that circle on the floor indicates. It was covered in Miss Narusegawa's fingerprints, but that knife was clean of anything else. Even then, the angle of the spatter made it unlikely to be from the abductors."

"Fingerprints." Motoko noted as something dreadful entered her mind. "The clean knife wasn't what tipped you off that it wasn't their blood was it?"

"As far as I know, Naru's fingerprints are not in any official database since there is no reason for it to be there." Haruka frowned deeply.

Ishikawa nodded his head. "We also discovered Miss Narusegawa's severed fingers nearby as well."

"No!" Su quivered at the mention of this new information. "Naru!"

Motoko reflexively reached for her sword. Her hand twitched as the need to deal out punishment ravaged through her. She forced herself to hold back since unfortunately, the perpetrators are not here to feel her righteous fury.

Haruka crossed her arms and furred her brow. "Anything else you would like to tell us? Does this mean that Naru is dead?"

Ishikawa shook his head. "As you probably can see, there isn't enough blood to draw that conclusion yet. And since the perpetrators didn't bother to clean up this mess, we are going under the assumption that she is still alive somewhere." He droned as he then pointed to the cabinet with the slit in it, as well as a white circle around it. "Given that we only found a trace amount of blood there, we're going to assume that this was the second strike from that blade, as well as one that did not penetrate Miss Narusegawa. It was probably meant to scare her if anything."

Motoko knelt down and examined the slit. "Judging by the angle, the shape, and the cleanliness of it penetration, I would have to say it came from a sharp long katana or possibly a wakizashi." She took a few steps back and peered at the scene as if she was an attacker. She first noted the phone sitting silently on the counter right above where the marking was. She glanced to her left, and then to her right where the corresponding holes were. The place where the knife dropped was to the right next to where the first attacker must've came from. "There was a third party here."

"Yes, and we suspected." Ishikawa droned on again. "Though we have less evidence about him than the others. Right now, with the evidence we have now, we have only determined two assailants. But given what you see here, there has to be a third to have caught Miss Narusegawa by surprise."

"Then we should work backwards." Motoko said as she took a few more steps back from her position. She then imagined Naru backing up to the entrance on the right holding the knife. She was caught by surprise by the first assailant, but was somehow able to breakaway and Naru punch him through that wall. She then imagined the second attacker coming in from the entrance to her left, but before he could get close, he was subsequently punched through the left wall. The imagined Naru then reached for the phone when she suddenly stopped. A third figure came up from behind her removing a blade from its sheath. The imagined Naru reacted when the third figure made a slashing movement. The pain and shock sent the imagined Naru to the floor. Motoko flinched as she could only imagine how close this scenario was to her. 'Don't worry Naru! We will find you!'

She peered behind her at where she suspected the third abductor came from. She walked into the hallway as she examined the doors along the way. This apartment though more spacious than some of the older ones found in other buildings, it was still quite small compared to American standards. It was also a sort of fusion between old Japanese style design like the sliding doors, and mats, with a few international modern designs like a small utilities closet, and even a laundry room. Speaking of the small utilities closet, she noted that it was slightly ajar, indicating that this was probably where the smaller of the two men hid. As she continued on her journey down the hallway, she noted the extra room that was being converted into a baby room.

Another flashback occurs as she remembers the time that Motoko came over to help decorate for the new arrival. Su, Shinobu, and Kitsune were also there as they laughed it up as they recalled all the adventures they had. And Naru, she looked on as she rubbed her tummy, with a faint smile appearing on her face. A tear threatened to fall as she thought of those memories. 'This room was going to be a wonderful new chapter in their lives.'

And in a way, a new chapter did occur in this room. But it was far from wonderful.

Motoko examined the room, and felt her heart sink. While everything seemed to be untouched, the crib was in its place, the wall trimmings silently singing their joyful tunes, and the toys waiting to be played, the markings on the side of the sliding door indicated that this was where the bigger of the two abductors hid. She lowered her head as she could only imagine how some disgusting thug defiled this wonderful sanctuary. She shut her fist as she tried to hold back the new set of tears that threatened to flow. This time, they were the tears of fury. 'Those bastards! When I get my hands on them…' Suddenly, after wiping her eyes with her sleeve, she saw a short black hair on one of the drawer in the room. As she peered closer, she noted that there were tiny scratch marks on the wooden drawer. With her gloved hand, she slowly picked up the hair and examined it closely. 'This might be nothing. It could be Keitaro's…however…' Motoko exited the room and slowly returned to where Su, Haruka, Tomoko, and Ishikawa were all standing in.

"Find anything?" Haruka glanced up at Motoko.

Motoko nodded. "I did find where the abductors have hidden…"

"The utilities closet and the child's room right?" Ishikawa took a deep sigh. "I told you, we are perfectly capable of doing the investigation ourselves!"

"And I agree." Motoko lightly nodded. "This was, after all, not my idea." She eyed Su who only glared at her with contempt. She took a deep breath and sighed. "However, I did find this hair in the child's room that might prove useful. At first I didn't think much of it, until I noticed the scratch marks next to them."

"Ooo! Let me see!" Su examined the hair sample that Motoko held. "Hmm." She took out one of the cases that had the distinctive symbol of the Kingdom of Molmol stamped on them. "This should help determine who this hair belongs to!"

Haruka grinned. "So, I guess all those novels of yours have finally paid off."

A light tinge of crimson appeared on Motoko's face. "But I only write romance novels! Not mystery!"

Haruka grin deepened. "And they are all so detailed!" This statement caused Motoko's face to further redden.

"So you're the Motoko Aoyama that writes those novels huh? My wife loves those…" Ishikawa then turned his attention to Su and raised an eyebrow. "Wait what are you doing?" Ishikawa eyed Su with suspicion. "First what the heck is that thing? Second, if it is a new evidence that we missed, we should be the ones to examine it!"

Su innocently smiled. "Sure you can have it! After I'm done with it!" Su tinkered with the machine in front of her. A tray came up and she placed the hair into it. "And what this is, is the Molmol DNA analyzer! And after I examine this…" She took out a bag of skin follicles and more hair samples. "I can test these as well to see if I get a match from the national database!"

Ishikawa slapped his forehead in total disbelief. "There is no where that you can get a sample ready in just a few seconds with that toy! We are already running a DNA test with the samples that we already have at the lab. But given current techniques and technologies, it will take a week before…"

"All done!" Su smiled brightly as a printed-paper came out of the machine.

Ishikawa stopped in mid sentence. His mouth was wide open at the buzzing sound of Su's machine printing out a paper.

"Wow!" Tomoko eyed the machine in amazement. "Are you telling me that you already have the DNA from that sample!"

Ishikawa shook his head complete disbelief. "Well excuse me for not believing this right away but, I'd like to confirm this data with our own labs thank you!"

"Okay!" Su handed him the sample at that moment. "I don't need it anymore anyways!"

"So, whom does the hair belong to?" Haruka said as she was about reach for her cigarette, only to be stopped by the glare from Ishikawa.

Su's smile faded as she quickly shook her head. "It isn't human, but from a cat."

"A cat?" Motoko raised an eyebrow. "Why would a cat be doing here?"

"And not just any cat…" Su frown deepened. "I got a match while I was running a full database search."

"Which if it was a cat, would be pointless since there is currently no national database for animal DNA." Ishikawa noted.

"Yes…" Su said as she eyed Ishikawa again. "But let me finish! You see, turns out, that this machine already has information about this cat!"

"Information about this cat?" Motoko raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"It means I already have the DNA stored in this machine when I was first testing this machine out a few years ago! You see the cat belonged to…" Su trailed off.

Ishikawa crossed his arms with impatience. "Yes?"

"Kanako Urashima." Su's eyes darken.

"Kanako-san?" Motoko eyes widened considerably after the mention of that name. "It can't be! She can't be the third abductor?"

Haruka frowned at this revelation. She then shot her head to Ishikawa. "Tell me, were Keitaro and Naru abducted at the same time?"

Ishikawa shook his head. "We don't believe so. Or current timeline places Miss Narusegawa's abduction at around six. Possibly shortly after Professor Urashima left the apartment. We know from the university that he arrived there without any incident and continued with his duties there." He then peered at the front door behind him. "And given that his car is parked in front of the complex, that's at least a four hour difference between the two abductions." His frown deepened as he contemplated the abduction of Keitaro. "Unfortunately, we have even LESS physical evidence for his kidnapping than Miss Narusegawa which, as you could see, was practically everywhere."

Haruka frowned and crossed her arms. "And that means that she could've came anytime between them right?"

Ishikawa reluctantly nodded. "BUT, that doesn't rule her out as the third abductor during the abduction of Miss Narusegawa! Assuming that…machine is accurate."

"Of course." Haruka then eyed the door as another thought came to her. "Speaking of the abductors, have you determined how they entered the apartment?"

Ishikawa shook his head. "When we arrived, the front door was unlocked and undamaged. Though the reason why it was unlock was probably due to Professor Urashima."

"Hmm." Haruka rubbed her chin as she eyed the door, and then the hallway that led to where the abductors were hiding. She then glanced at the windows and frown. 'The windows are too small for them to fit through, even if they were able to remove them. And there is only one door in and out of this place.' "The manager of this place…he has an extra set of keys correct?"

"Yes." Ishikawa crossed his arms. "However, we haven't been able to find him…"

"Then find him!" Haruka frowned. "I believe he has some explaining to do."

-Meanwhile…

Unknown Location – Dining Room

Keitaro's eyes fluttered open as he slowly awakens from his slumber. The first thing he notes was the massive headache that he was experiencing at the moment. His head swirled in a daze as his senses slowly came back to him. 'Man, what a dream. I dreamt that my apartment was broken into and…' Then, in his blurred image, he could see that he was in a darkened room with two flickering lights at the opposite end of the wall. He reached for his eyes, surprised to see that he was still wearing glasses. He rubbed his eyes under his glasses, and shook the last bit of grogginess that was still with him. As his vision cleared, he was amazed at where he was. He was inside a huge and elaborate dining room, complete with massive windows to the side that reached from the floor to the ceiling. Statues situated on pedestals sat in the area between the windows. A large crystal chandelier hovered over the dining table. The dining table was long with a dark, but reflective surface. In front of him was a plate full of what looked like spaghetti with meatballs, a wine glass, and a basket full of bread. His stomach growled at the smell of the offering, when a woman spoke up in front of him. A woman he surprised to see earlier that night.

"You're finally awake oniichan!" Kanako, wearing a white vest over a dark black shirt smiled at her awakened 'brother'.

"Ka..Kanako?" Keitaro continued to blink in utter confusion at what he was seeing. "What…what's going on? Where am I?"

Kanako slowly twirled her fork into her spaghetti. With her deep dark gaze never leaving Keitaro. "You look hungry oniichan! You should eat!"

"Huh?" Keitaro looked down at his plate. He was certainly hungry, and he was looking forward to eating one of Naru… "Wait!" Keitaro began to remember what occurred earlier. "Then it wasn't a dream! My apartment!" He immediately sprang from his chair. "What happened!" Suddenly, two women dressed in French maid uniforms approached him from the side. "Huh?" Their shaken stares caused him to cautiously sit back down.

Kanako seemed unfazed by Keitaro's reaction as he brought the fork full of spaghetti close to her mouth. "We can discuss this later oniichan! I'm just so happy that you're safe!"

"But what about Naru? Where's Naru?" Keitaro yelled again.

Kanako slowly chewed a few times, and then swallowed. She chuckled at Keitaro's outburst. She brought out a napkin and lightly tapped her mouth with it before responding. "You don't have to yell. I can hear you perfectly well here."

Keitaro calmed down a bit as he slowly sank into his chair. "Kanako, what exactly is going on here?"

Kanako slowly reached for a roll of bread, and took one out of the basket. She slowly ripped it in half, and placed one of the pieces on a small plate. With a butter knife, she cut a piece of butter and spread it over one of the bread pieces. "Now, now oniichan, you need to eat! You have your health to worry about!"

Keitaro's nerves were frayed. His arms were shaking with anxiety and fear. He shot up from his chair again. "But I have to see Naru! I need to know that she and the baby are okay!"

Again, the two maids approached him from either side of his chair. One of them spoke up this time.

"You…you have to eat! It's what the master wishes!" The first maid to his side said.

Keitaro blinked in bewilderment. "Ma..mma…master?" He then noted more detail about the two maids accompanying him. Both were lightly shivering. Given the temperature, and what they were wearing, Keitaro doubted it was due to the cold. One appeared to be a young Japanese girl with short black hair, aged somewhere in her late teens to early twenties. The other appeared to be the same age only that she appeared to be a young Russian girl with short blond hair. Both were wearing what appeared to be traditional French maid uniforms. The fear in their eyes again, causes Keitaro to sit back down again. He returned his attention to Kanako at the other end of the table who continued to butter her bread. "What do they…"

"It's okay girls! I'm sure oniichan means no harm." Kanako slightly grinned as she brought the piece of buttered bread into her mouth.

Keitaro glanced at the maids, and then at Kanako. "Ka…ka…Kanako? Ca..ca…can you please tell me what is going on here?" Keitaro stuttered out.

A maid standing next to Kanako filled her wine glass. Kanako picked up the wine glass and began swirling it around. "You're safe oniichan. That's all you need to know right now."

"But what about…" Keitaro nearly stood up, but stopped himself midway as he saw the two maids beside him flinch. He slowly sat back down. "What about…Naru?"

Kanako took a sip from her wine before she spoke up again. "Who?"

"Who?" Keitaro's mouth started to quiver. "You…you know her! You were at our wedding! She's…she's my wife! What…what has gotten into you Kanako! Where am I? Where is…"

"I told you Keitaro, that you are now safe."

The mention of Keitaro's name stopped his half maniacal outburst dead in its tracks. He took a big gulp. "Kanako?"

"You remember the state of your apartment right oniichan?" Kanako's eyes seemed to lighten at that point. Those eyes however, did nothing to calm down Keitaro's nerves. "I brought you here so that I can protect you."

"I…that's true." Keitaro said as he nervously conceded that point. "But what about Naru?"

Kanako only smiled at the mention of her name. "I'll explain everything later. Now, you need to eat."

Keitaro thought about asking another question, but quickly decided against it. He determined that either Kanako wasn't telling him something, or she doesn't know. He looked down at the plate of spaghetti and slowly reached for a fork. While his appetite had since diminished since waking up in this dining room, filling his stomach with something was probably a wise thing to do at this point.

Kanako slowly slurped up a single long spaghetti noodle. She continued to gaze at Keitaro as he began to the meal in front of him. After slurping up the single noodle, Kanako tapped her mouth with her napkin, and a smile appeared on her face. "Try the wine oniichan! It is quite delicious!"

Unknown Location – Basement

Somewhere, there was a door. At first glance, this door looked like any other door. It had a round handle like any other door, and was painted a dull white. Past this door led to a set of stairs. A single light bulb inside a light fixture was the only illumination of an otherwise dark passageway. The damp brick walls followed the descending stairs down to, another door. This one however, was more elaborate than the one at the top of the stairs. It was a thick metal door, with multiple locks running up and down it. A few of the locks were sliding locks that ran the width of the metal door. The center was painted a dull green, with the edges left in its silvery metal that was slowly rusting due to the passage of time.

In the stillness of the passageway, the sound of metal rubbing against metal can be heard. The closer to the door, the sound intensifies. Even the muffling effect of the heavy metal can't stop this sound from escaping.

Through the door, the source of the sound was now unmistakable. It's the sounds of chains rubbing against a thick metal pipe running up and down the room. The chains bounded a woman's hands together as she struggles in vain to get free from them. The chain rested behind the pipe, with her hands, one hastily bandaged up, confined to either side of the pipe. Her legs were also bounded together by chains as she continued to struggle against her restraints. She looked up in her tear stained eyes at the one source of light in the room, and the heavy door that loomed ominously in front of her. She bit her lip before she took a deep breath and screamed with all her might.

"Can someone help me!" Naru yelled at the top of her lungs. "I'm down here! Please! Someone help me!"

------End of Chapter 4

* * *

Did I say dark? I think I did!

Anyways, this chapter pretty much sets up the rest of the story. As you can see, we basically have two main aspects that this story will follow until the end (Keitaro, Naru, and Kanako part, and the Hinata gang searching for them), with a number of minor stories for support as well (like Haruka and Seta, what happened to them, as well as Grandma Hina and Kanako).

Also, sorry if Motoko seemed, 'castrated' so far. The reason why she is like this is, well, at the moment, she (as well as Haruka) are pretty much the voice of reason in the group. While they both want to do something, since Motoko (and Haruka) don't believe interfering with the police is a wise move, neither of them wants to take the initiative either.

And yes, I did do some research on the Japanese government, and some on their law enforcement agencies. Though if I used my research correctly, is another matter entirely (for example, I had the Minster of Justice call the Inspector to allow Kaolla Su in. But, would that really happen in real life? Well okay, I'm already taking a MASSIVE leap of faith that Molmol can somehow convince the Japanese government, but still…supposing that happens, would it be that agency, or another?). Oh, and my source, was Wikipedia since they are so easy to access (BUT, we know how accurate they can be!).

I also put up a preview at Shinji's again to see if anyone thinks I'm going off the tracks or not. Seeing that I am again, not getting any replies, I'm going to assume…no. :-P I would leave it up there longer before putting this one up but, since I'm getting the same response as I was getting with Chapter 3 at this point, the same thing will probably happen if I just leave it up longer then.

-Next Chapter…what will the Hinata gang find out when they find the manager of Keitaro and Naru's apartment? What about Kanako and Keitaro? Until then…later!


	5. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5

-Well, updates are still on the slow side. After this, my next update should be… actually, I have no clue. While I do plan to work on Fallen Blade sometime in the future, Something else might get in front of it before hand. Hmm. We'll see.

-Without further ado, on with the story!

* * *

Outside Keitaro and Naru's Apartment

"Wait, wait, wait!" Ishikawa said in a shocked tone. Completely taken by surprise by Haruka's assertion. "I'm the authority here. You're supposed to be at most, observers. This is…"

"And I suppose you are already doing that right?" Haruka glared at the Inspector with a questioning cold glance.

Ishikawa sank down a bit from Haruka's intense stare. "Well, no but…"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Haruka said in a slightly elevated voice that was normally in opposition to her normally mellow personality. "Or are you saying that you can't handle a simple procedural matter like that right Inspector?" Haruka crossed her arms to emphasize the point. "Or does your honor mean that little to you?"

"Um, uh… no." Ishikawa quickly said. Although he was taken aback by the notion that Haruka go so far as bring up his 'honor', at the same time, she did have a point that this should have been standard procedure during a kidnapping investigation. "I'll… get on it right now!"

Haruka watched Ishikawa trotted off to his underlings to order his subordinates before she took out another cigarette, placed it on her lips, and lit it with a lighter she always seemed to have handy at a time like this. After she took a long drag, she eyed the Hinata Sou residences behind her.

All stared at her with an astonished expression.

"What?" Haruka calmly replied as she removed the cigarette from her mouth and blew whiff of smoke out of the corner of her mouth.

"Eh…" Kitsune frantically waved her arms in front of her, hoping to not incur the 'wrath' of Haruka. "Nothing! Nothing! I mean…" While she herself hasn't really seen a different side of Haruka besides her, cool demeanor. A demeanor that at times seemed to be her only expression that she allowed to show. Well, when it did not have to do with Keitaro calling her 'aunt', or when she and Seta had issues to deal with before they made up.

Haruka stared at Kitsune, changing her expression back to her normal self. "My nephew and his wife are missing. How would I be able to face my brother if I told him I didn't do everything in my power to find them?"

"Well…" Motoko rubbed the side of her gi nervously. "You could always say that you left it to the police and that it was up to them. It is their job to find them after all."

"I could." Haruka said. "But it doesn't mean that I still couldn't have done something." She then turned to Su who simply blinked at Haruka with wonder. "Isn't that right as Su?" After she watched Kaolla nod, she took her used cigarette and dropped it on the floor. Once the cigarette hits the ground, Haruka stomped and crushed it.

-Meanwhile…

Unknown Location – Dining Room

"Did you find the dinner much enjoyable?" Kanako said as she tapped the side of her mouth with a cloth napkin.

"I um, yeah! It was very good!" Keitaro said quickly. While it was quite delicious Keitaro would admit, at the same time, he was not in the mood to enjoy it that much. This was especially true given the lingering issue about the location and safety of his wife Naru. Not to mention Kanako's sudden reappearance, her evasive answers to Keitaro's many questions, and where exactly this place was.

"I'm glad you like it!" Kanako clapped her hands once and smiled. She then stood up from her chair. "If you will excuse me, I have some… preparations I have to do right now. We'll be catching up later oniichan! Byeeeeeeee." Kanako gave a quickly wave before she departed through the double doors that were situated behind her, pausing only to give a quick whisper to one of the maids next to her. The Japanese looking maid quickly followed her while the Russian looking maid stayed in the room.

"Wait!" Keitaro bolted from his chair and jogged his way towards where door. Right before he could reach it however, the Russian maid stepped in front of him blocking his path. Given Keitaro's luck, he was too late in stopping and wound up crashing right into her.

"Oft." Keitaro shook his head at what felt like very soft cotton material. Though it felt much softer than it should be. 'Uh… what the…' Keitaro's eyes suddenly shot open as he realized where his head was resting on. "IIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!" In a flash, he got off of the maid stood up, and bowed many times. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

"It's… okay." The maid said as she slowly stood up from her location. "It was my fault for standing in your way."

"Nonono! I should have stopped! I mean I wasn't trying to…" Keitaro suddenly paused as he an image of Naru's beautiful face popped into his head. While he normally feared it when something like this happened, he suddenly began to miss the accusation of perversion followed by a punch that would send him on an aerial trip over Hinata. "I mean, I just wanted to speak to my sister. That's all."

"I'm sorry Master Keitaro. Mistress Kanako wishes not to be disturbed right now." The maid said nodding. "However, she wants me to show you your room from now on."

"Room from now on?" Keitaro repeated, confused with the word usage. "What do you mean by 'from now on'?"

The maid simply stepped into the hallway without answering him. Seeing that he did not know how big this mansion was, and did not want to get lost in such a mysterious and strange place, he followed the maid without saying another word.

Unknown Location – Hallway

"I'll show you to your room now Master Keitaro." The Russian maid said as she led Keitaro down the darken hallway. Lit only by the ornate wall lights that appeared to be hand crafted by a skilled blacksmith somewhere in medieval Europe, and then imported here to Japan by some rich socialite. This, supposing that Keitaro was still in Japan, and somehow not flown secretly to Europe on a supersonic jet. The only thing going against this idea in Keitaro's head would be the time he fell asleep, and when he woke up did not seem to be long enough to sneak him from Japan to Europe. Supposing this was the same night and all.

Either way, what this place has to do with Kanako was a complete mystery to him.

Keitaro eyes darted from corner to corner. The gothic feel of the hallway did nothing to calm his frayed nerves. Not to mention the millions of questions that kept bubbling up from the deep depths of his mind. Questions that seemingly appear with each step he took in this strange place. "Um," Keitaro sounded, grabbing the attention of the maid. "I am… umm… Maid-san? Um… you…"

"Agafia." The maid quietly said.

"Huh?" Keitaro said, stunned by the sudden response.

"My name is Agafia. Agafia Svjatoslava, M… m…master Urashima." The maid reiterated.

"Umm… hehehe…" Keitaro laughed nervously as the atmosphere began to thicken a bit again. "Okay Agafia-san?"

"Yes Master Keitaro?" Agafia said. She looked nervously at Keitaro.

'She's more nervous than I am!' Keitaro surmised as he viewed the girl's eyes. He had a hint of it during dinner, but now with them alone… Keitaro took a big gulp before continuing. "Um, well, you can stop calling me Master now! I mean I…"

Agafia shuffled her feet a bit. "But that is what Mistress Kanako…"

"Please! I'm not… comfortable being referred to as Master!" Keitaro gave a wide smile in the hopes of calming the maid down. "You can just call me Keitaro!"

"Okay… Keitaro…" Agafia shifted her eyes a bit.

Any hope Keitaro had that the tension in the hallway would be lifted appeared to be premature. "Well… um, about this Master thing um…" Keitaro's eyes wondered to the elaborate hallway and the medieval looking paintings hanging on the wall. He decided to ask the question that had been nagging him since he first woke up here. "What… is all this? What's going on?"

Agafia stared at Keitaro confused. "This is a mansion…"

"Uh eh!" Keitaro frantically waved his hands in front of him after he would admit was a fairly lame opening question. "Nononono! That's not what I meant. Hehehe. I mean… what does this mansion have to do with Kanako and, what exactly is going on here?"

"You do not know?" Agafia said in a questioning tone. "This mansion has been owned by the Urashima family for generations."

"It… has?" Keitaro said amazed. He then reexamined his surroundings. He noted all of the expensive looking furniture and ornaments, and then quickly shook his head disbelief. "You're saying that our family… owns all this? I know Grandma was quite well off but… but… no way our family owns all this! I mean my father was a baker and um... And all Grandma owned was the Hinata Sou! Which I admit, given the amount of land it was on, that alone was quite impressive on its own right. But, given how expensive land in Japan is, no way we could also own this place?"

"Hmmm…" Agafia said as she looked down at her hands. "Perhaps I have said too much…"

"Huh?" Keitaro raised an eyebrow at the Russian girl's answer.

"Maybe… maybe… maybe…" Agafia shifted her eyes to the side. "Maybe Master Kanako wanted to tell you in person about this. All about 'your family'."

Keitaro continued to stare blankly at Agafia as he tried to wrap his mind around this latest revelation. 'My family? I admit I don't know much about our history but…' "Exactly what is going on?"

Agafia lightly shook her head again. "That is for Mistress Kanako to disclose. I… she gave specific orders that she will be the one to tell you personally."

Keitaro stared at Agafia bewildered. "Disclose? What exactly is she hiding? And can you at least tell me where I am?"

Agafia shook her head. "Again, Mistress Kanako will explain everything in due time."

"I see. I guess." Keitaro said disconcerted. He then patted down his clothes and realized, besides the clothes he was wearing, he did not have anything else with him. Like the cell phone he recently got in order to stay in contact with Naru when they were away. 'Maybe I left it at home when… wait, how exactly did Kanako bring me here?' "Can I… let me guess, you can't tell me how I was brought here right?"

Agafia lightly nodded her head. "Again, Kanako will tell you in due time."

"Okay." Keitaro gulped at the answer. "Then, can you at least tell me where the nearest phone is? I need to tell the others that I'm safe. I'm sure they're all worried about me."

To his surprise, Agafia shook her head. "I am not supposed to allow you to contact anyone on the outside."

"What?" Keitaro burst out. "Why?"

"Mistress Kanako's orders." Agafia simply said.

"But… but… why would she bar me from talking to anyone on the outside?" Keitaro said, now even more perplexed about his situation than before. "I mean, I just want to tell them I'm alright and…"

"Master Kanako just wants you to be safe Keitaro-san." Agafia replied. Her eyes shifted to the side nervously. "She is concerned that the people that would want to hurt you might discover that you are here."

"People that would hurt me?" Keitaro's chin began to quiver. He suddenly flashed back to the time when he first entered his apartment. The state his apartment was in, the holes in the wall, the eerie silence, and the red drops that he now fears were drops of blood. He quickly shut out the voice that would even suggest that it was Naru's blood he saw.

Agafia nodded lightly. "Do not be concerned, for Mistress Kanako's is deeply concerned about your safety, and will not let any harm come to you." She turned her head towards the darkened hallway. "Now please follow me. I'll show you where your room is…"

"O…okay." Keitaro responded nervously. His safety however, was not the one he was immediately concerned about. 'Naru…'

Yokohama Police Station - Hallway

The Hinata girls' were all packed inside the dimly lit narrow hallway. Despite protest from Inspector Ishikawa, given threats by Su and Haruka's 'outside' connections, Ishikawa easily folded to their demands. Once the manager was found, he was quickly taken into the interrogation room for questioning. After giving lecture about not interfering with the questioning of the 'witness', something that went over the heads of a few of the girls, Ishikawa entered the room, and slammed the door shut behind him. As they peered through the two way mirrored windows, they could see a balding middle-aged man slumped into his chair. He was clearly sweating under the intense light shining above him. The man dropped his sweaty hand onto the metallic table. Ishikawa sat directly across from him and sat back in his chair, looking completely relaxed in his stance. Despite what appeared to be a lengthy questioning session from Ishikawa, the discussion remained one sided as the bald man refused to say anything.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Ema carefully said as her head shifted from the single sided window of the interrogation room, and then to the, somewhat relaxed expression on Haruka's face. This was in contrast to the apparent tense situation that they have all been thrown in on this night. "I mean, I… I like to do as much as anyone else but… Wasn't it you that said we shouldn't get involved and just let the police handle it?!"

Haruka eyed the nerdy looking girl carefully. "That was then, this is now." A frown appeared on the side of her face. "Besides, will that stop any of you from not trying to find them on your own?"

The girl's looked at each other for a few seconds, before most of them, Motoko, Mutsumi, Shinobu, Kitsune, and Su all turned to Haruka and shook their heads.

Ema looked backed at the rest of the girls and felt extremely embarrassed being the only girl 'not' wanting to find Keitaro. At least, having the appearance of not wanting to find him. In reality, staying with Keitaro and Naru, she began to see why everyone wanted to find them. And while she herself did not see the attraction, she did want to see his smiling face again with his 'explosive' wife. "Um, I didn't mean it that way. I… mean um… I mean, this is going to be dangerous and…"

"Do not concern yourself." Motoko patted Ema's shoulder behind her. "I felt the same way about this when I first heard about this. Not necessarily on my safety, but for the safety of everyone else here." Then her eyes hardened, and her grip on her sword tightened. "But if you saw what I saw… there is no way I will let sit back and do nothing to save them! And since they hurt Naru…"

"Hmph!" Su nodded as she scowled. "But I would have been doing this anyways no matter what any of you have said. They are a part of the Hinata Sou family! We can't let anyone of us be harmed!"

"So, you really have grown up." Haruka commented in a near monotone voice. "Now…" She raised her hand to the girls and eyed each one of them. "I'd like to hear what's happening in there. Seems the 'Inspector' finally got him saying something." Haruka said in a near whisper mocking tone. "Let's here what he has to say."

"I… I don't know anything about it!" The bald man said, his voice reverberating through the intercom.

Yokohama Police Station – Interrogation Room

"Oh come on." The Ishikawa said as he sat back and crossed his arms. "Mister Kurosawa, can you explain to me why there was no sign of force entry?"

"Um… maybe… I… I don't know!" The sweating manager said as his eyes shifted from side to side. "Maybe, she stole one of the copies and…"

"First of all, what makes you so sure that it was a 'she' that stole one of the copies?" Ishikawa glared at Kurosawa. "And isn't it against your apartment's policy for its residence to make copies?"

"Well… I… um…" Kurosawa's hands began to shake. "Maybe they…"

"The only extra set of keys for any of the twenty units in your building, belongs to you." Ishikawa held up an evidence bag. In it was a set of keys around a silvery key ring that has since lost its luster over time. Ishikawa jiggled the bag in front of the manager. "What a coincidence… one key appears to be missing. Can you guess which one?"

Kurosawa's mouth began to quiver. "I… I…"

"Right now, we can keep you as an accessory for a kidnapping. Now, you can help save yourself by telling us where Mister Urashima and Miss Narusegawa are right?" Ishikawa leaned back on his chair, creaking ever so slightly. His eyes narrowed as he felt the trap begin to spring.

"I… I…" The manager began to shiver violently as he finally snapped. "I can't tell you where they are! They… they will kill me!"

"And who exactly is 'they'?" Ishikawa leaned in closer to the sweating man.

"The… the…" The sweating man looked over from side to side. "She… she said she belonged to the Urashima family!"

A smirk appeared on Ishikawa's face. "You're kidding right? That name scares no one anymore! And last time I checked, the couple you 'sold' out on had that very name."

"I… I know but… but…" The bald man's nails began to scratch the metallic top of the table. "She said… the family was rising back to its 'rightful' place! Back from the veil of deception that tried to destroy it! She… she…"

"Oh don't make me laugh!" Ishikawa slammed his hand on the table. "If you truly are in danger we can protect you from 'them'. But we can't do it unless you tell us where they are!"

"No… no… no!" Kurosawa quickly shook his head. "They'll kill me!"

Yokohama Police Station - Hallway

Inside the hallway, Mutsumi blinked at the on going events inside the room. "Um, Haruka? What did the Inspector mean when he said 'that name scares no one anymore'?"

Kitsune also caught the same thing. She looked at Haruka and asked a similar question. "Um yeah. What did he mean by that?"

"Honestly… I don't know." Haruka said, raising an eyebrow at that revelation. She let out a whiff of smoke before she eyed the curious girls. "Maybe they saw mother's dark side?" A grin appeared on Haruka's face as the reaction she received was a bunch of blank stares. Her eyes then narrowed as she returned the events that were happening inside of her room. "However, I'm more concerned about my nephew. And this 'manager' is hiding something."

Yokohama Police Station - Interrogation 

"No! I can't!" The bald man frantically screamed back at the Inspector. "If I talk, then they'll hunt me down and kill me!"

Ishikawa sighed. "Again, we'll protect you from…"

Suddenly, the door slammed open.

"What the?" Ishikawa shot his head back to see the 'near' incensed face of Haruka. "Hey! You can't be in here!"

Haruka glanced for a section at Ishikawa before ignoring him entirely. She casually walked around him and stood in front of the bald manager. She crossed her arms as she glared down on him.

"Um… Haru…Haru… Haruka?" Shinobu shakily said. "Shouldn't we… um…"

Haruka, without saying a word, raised her hand at Shinobu, stopping her concern dead in her tracks. She then focused her attention on Keitaro's and Naru's scared bald little manager. "I don't know why you're so afraid of the 'Urashima' family. Since right now, the only Urashima you should be sacred of is me!"

"Ehhhh…" Kurosawa's sweat poured down his face. "Ura… Ura…"

Haruka slammed her foot down into the guy's chest, knocking him to the ground. "Now tell me where my nephew and his wife is?" In a low, but still threatening tone.

"Ahhhhhh!" The man shrieked.

"Haruka?" Su said in a slightly stunned voice.

"I don't… I don't…" The bald man muttered out.

"Wrong answer." Haruka said as she dug her foot deeper into his chest.

"Ma'am!" The Inspector said startled. "You can't assault…"

Haruka eyed Ishikawa from the corner of her eyes. "Why are worried? If someone complains, you can just say some crazed woman came in and assaulted the witness."

"Uh… um…" Ishikawa sputtered out.

"Now where were we?" Haruka said as she returned her attention to the man she had under her foot. She leaned in closer to see the details of the iris of his eyes.

"Well… you see… I don't know where they are!" The bald man squeaked out through tears. "They never told me anything!"

"Oh. In that case, why didn't you say so in the first place?" Haruka said as she lifted her foot from the man's chest. "I mean if you didn't know anything, you had nothing to worry about right?"

"Uhhh…" The bald man gulped nervously.

"I mean, if they didn't tell you where they were taking them, then you shouldn't have to worry about anyone going after you right?" Haruka said, tapping the ashes off her of cigarette. "So I should apologize for what I just did."

"Well, I… um…" The bald man slowly backed up from his position.

Su's eyes widened a bit, before narrowing as she began to catch what Haruka was implying. "Except you know something don't you?"

"Um…" Kurosawa gulped again. "It isn't… well… it…" Suddenly, he felt something cool on the side of his throat as a new face, one with long flowing black hair, and was wearing some more traditional clothing, occupied his view. "Eep!"

"Tell us everything you know, or things might get a little messy if my hand 'accidentally' slips." Motoko said in a low threatening voice.

"Guh. Eeeeeeeeh!" Kurosawa started before breaking down. "Okay! Okay! We met at the bar a few blocks from the apartment. She brought two men, one fat middle age man and a thin man about the same age with her and basically told me everything she planned to do!"

"Why would she tell you everything?" Haruka asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Um, not about what she planned to do with them or anything…" The bald man eyed Haruka for a second, then the long blade that was running next to his neck. "But what she planned to do to me and my family if I didn't cooperate."

"And what exactly did she plan?" Motoko said as she edged the blade even closer to his skin. "Can't be any worse than what I would do could it?"

"Um, um, um…" The bald man gulped again. He nearly shook his head until he remembered the blade that was riding his neck. "She said that she would cut my balls off if I didn't cooperate!"

Motoko frowned. "That's it? I'm disappointed."

"I… I didn't even get to the part of what she would do to my kids!" A drop of sweat poured down Kurasawa's face, and landed on Motoko's blade.

"Now now." Haruka said as she took out a new cigarette and lit it. "He's being cooperative right now. As long as he continues, he doesn't have to worry about losing the ability to have anymore children."

"Um, there is no smoking…" Ishikawa began before dropping his head in defeat. "Never mind."

Motoko glared at Kurosawa for a bit, before lifting the sword ever so slightly off of his neck.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Haruka said as she hovered over the man.

"I… she told me to monitor their activities. When they were home and so forth." Kurosawa relayed. "And then give them my copy of the apartment key when the time came. That's all I swear!"

"Hmph." Haruka said and she began contemplating. "Can you at least tell us what bar you went to?"

"The… Cat's Paw." Kurosawa nodded furiously. "That's the place!"

"Cat's Paw?" Kitsune blinked.

Haruka eyed Kitsune. "You know that place?"

"Yeah!" Kitsune replied. "I go there… um, every other Thursday! Heheh."

"How come I'm not surprised?" Motoko sarcastically commented. "But didn't you say…"

"Hey! I did say every other Thursday you know." Kitsune retorted before Motoko could finish her sentence.

"Hmm. Maybe we should pay them a visit." Haruka offhandedly said. "Maybe the bartender knows something." As she was approaching the exit, she suddenly stopped and turned back to the bald man. "Oh, and you never mentioned who 'she' was. Can you tell us that?"

"She… she didn't give a name." Kurosawa recounted as he eyed Haruka carefully. "Only that… that… um… she had a cat."

"A cat." Haruka frowned.

Unknown Location – Keitaro's Room

"This is your room." Agafia said as she gestured Keitaro to check it out. "Your bed, your drawer, chest…"

"Wow." Keitaro said amazed. He stared at 'his' bed in amazement. Not only did the room rival anything he had stayed in the past, the amount ornate furnishing that resided in this room left Keitaro simply speechless. A painting hanging over the bed showed a lighthouse with crashing waves. Though he would later feel that the painting would have a contradictory emotional tone to it. It had a calming feel given the warm color tones, but then, the sailing ship that was on it appeared to be on a collision course with the rocks on the beach. Moving on from the painting a bit, he stared at the ornamental light that hung on the ceiling. "This is like one of those classical European movies!" He looked at the chest in front of the bed, which had a painting in the front of a little girl staring at a dog stuck between a log, was surrounded by gold trims that seemed to fit nicely with the dark mahogany wood. His eyes then shifted to the objects on the desk. Most notably of the collection was a small brass pendulum clock sitting on the desk's corner. "Most of this stuff you'd find on that Antique Roadshow series! If not, a museum!"

"If you follow me, I'll show you the bathroom." Agafia continued.

"Ba…ba… bathroom?" Kietaro blinked. "There's a bathroom here?"

Agafia opened a doorway that was to the left of the bed that led to a massive bathroom, with a bowl shaped sink, a mirror with gold trim, and a bath that occupied the rest of it… a bath that could be better described as a hot tub, or even a mini-pool. It had a lion shaped facet that seemed to be keeping watch over this domain. With the exception of the modern but very expensive looking toilet, which was covered with gold and silver trims, modern day shampoo, conditioners, and gels sitting next to the bath, Keitaro could have swarn that he stepped into the past when he entered this bathroom. "Whoa… imagine what the others would think of this room?"

"I… I am… I'm glad you like it Mas… Keitaro. Mistress Kanako would be happy." She then shuffled her feet a bit. "If… if you have anymore request, I am at your disposal." Agafia quietly said from the corner of the bathroom.

"Disposal?" Keitaro said, as Agafia's words interrupted his previous line of thinking. "What do you mean?"

"I've been… I'm, completely at your service Mas… Keitaro. I… can make you feel comfortable." Agafia shifted her eyes to the side. "If you need to, I can provide… some extra service for you tonight."

"Service?" Keitaro blinked confused. "What do you mean by service?"

"I mean…" Agafia began fumbling with the threads in front of her dress. "I can… make you very comfortable."

"Eh… eh…eh!" A sweat drop appeared on Keitaro as he realized what Agafia was saying. "Nononononononononononono! That isn't necessarily! Hehehe. Um… I'm fine! Yeah! I'm perfectly fine!"

"Are you… sure?" Agafia turned her eyes away from Keitaro.

"Yeah yeah yeah! I can handle myself! I mean, not in that way! I mean…" Keitaro began to panic.

"O… Okay." Agafia slowly dropped her head. "I… I'll be waiting in the next room. If you need anything, please call me. Again, I am at your disposal."

"Sure sure!" Keitaro said waving her away. After Agafia left the room, Keitaro let out a big sigh and dropped his shoulders. He sat on the 'stairs' that led to into the bath. "What a night. And all I want to know is, where Naru is."

Unknown Location – Kanako's Room 

"Meow!" A certain black cat said on top of an antique looking dresser drawer.

"Wait right here Kuro-chan." Kanako smiled as she patted him over the head, bring a smile to the cat. "This is something that only I should do." She turned to the dresser drawer and opened the cupboards. She riffled through her collection before removing a simple buttoned up shirt and dress slacks. She removed her long coat and dress shirt and hung them up in the dresser. She removed her skirt and dress shoes, and placed them neatly in the drawer. In its place, she carefully put on the dress slacks, and the buttoned up shirt, and tucked the bottom of the shirt into her slacks. She then took out two black leather boots and put them on.

She then looked to the side of the dresser's door and noted a heavy worker's apron hanging on one of the hooks, appearing out of place to the gothic dresses hanged in the drawer. She took the apron, brought the top strap over her head, and tied the two straps on the side behind her. She looked up and noted a box full of latex gloves. She removed two gloves, put them on, and finished as by making a loud **SNAP**, confirming that the tight flexible gloves conformed completely to her hands. She then reached up to the top of the drawer, and took out a surgeon's facemask, promptly putting it on. After she was done, she stood upright, stared at herself in the mirror, and waiting for a few seconds before she spoke. "Do you have everything Kyoko?"

"Yes mistress." The Asian looking maid replied, holding up a suitcase sized wooden box in her hands.

"Good." Kanako said, as she turned around to view her subordinate. "Follow me."

Unknown Location – Basement

**DRIP**

Naru's eyes wavered in and out as she tried to let the inclination of sleep takeover.

**DRIP**

But each time, just when she felt like she can let the unconscious world take over, a drop of water would rip her away from it.

**DRIP**

"Mmmmm." Naru groaned as she tried her hardest to ignore it.

**DRIP**

The cool wetness trickles down her forehead.

**DRIP**

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naru screamed at the top of her lungs. She violently banged her confined arms on the pipes. "Someone get me the fuck out of here!" Suddenly, she stopped her movements as a new sound followed. The sound of locks and gears being moved. Her consternation, instead of dissipating, began to heighten. "Eeeeeeeeeh?!" Naru shot her head up to the heavy door in front of her.

**CLICK**

The final bolt unlocks, and the door creaked open.

Water trickled down into Naru's eyes, blurring her vision for a second. She shut her eyes and violently shook her head. After she was certain that the excess water was out of her eyes, she slowly opened them. The first vision she saw was of someone wearing thick black boots and dress slacks standing next to someone wearing leather shoes, white socks, and a black maids dress.

Before she could look up to see their faces, a certain sound reached her eyes. It was a tapping sound. Naru slowly raised her head to see what it was, and was horrified to discover the source.

Kanako, wearing a heavy apron and a facemask, was tapping a red plumber's wrench repeatedly in her hand. "Hello Naru. You are an honored guest to my home."

* * *

-------End of Chapter 5

That, was Chapter 5. So, not dark enough for ya? I can make it darker. Oh yes. I can. Hehehe.

Anywys, next on my planning stage, Fallen Blade? Fullmetal Evangelion? Silent Titan (my return from hiatus from the Teen Titan section?) Conflicted Hearts? Valiant Shinji? Bleach fic? Gah! Too many stories, so little time!

Next Chapter… what do the Hinata Sou gang find out? And what does Kanako plan for Naru? Until then… later!


	6. Chapter 6

-Finally! A new update!

* * *

Unknown Location - Basement

Naru squirmed as she took in this new information in front of her. "What… what… Kanako?!" The pit of her stomach churned. She shook off another drop of water that landed on her when she looked up at the woman in front of her. "What, what are you doing?! Where am I?"

Kanako stayed silent. She simply stared at Naru for a few seconds. Their sights caught, Kanako's eyes bored into Naru's mind, seemingly slicing through her soul with her gaze. Her mask hiding whatever expression the Goth girl would have had. But to Naru, her eyes told her everything. And what Naru saw terrified her to the core.

"Why? Why the fuck are you doing this?!" Naru screamed at her. Another drop of water landed on her forehead. The cool water that was now mixing with the salty sweat that permeated her brow.

Kanako lightly shook her head. She took a steps forward. "Now now, you shouldn't use that kind of language in 'my' house." She said in low condescending tone. She took another step towards Naru. Another one. And another one. When she reached the edge of the pregnant woman's confined feet, she slowly shifted her direction and began to circle her 'prey'. Step, by step. All the while, tapping the wrench in her hand. The shadow that was cast from the single light bulb, slowly shifted across Naru's body with each step Kanako took. Naru instinctively tried to futilely scoot back from her position, with the only result was her back depressing into the pipe.

The soft tapping sound seemed to resonate within Naru's ears. The way the metal wrench hit the latex covered hands shook the very bones in Naru's body. The dull thuds told all Naru needed about the weight and density of the object in Kanako's hand. For a moment, that sound took her mind off of the constantly dripping water above her. As the woman came closer, and closer to Naru, so did the sound of the tapping.

The woman Naru followed stopped. Her breathing quickened as Kanako stood mere inches from her face. She was so close that Naru could smell the rose scented perfume the black apron wearing woman wore that night. The auburn haired woman's face was covered in the darkness. The tapping continued above Naru. The tapping shadow danced across Naru's left side repeatedly. The once proud school teacher was terrified for what would happen if she dared to look at a woman she had not seen for over a year.

The tapping stopped.

The shadow that draped over Naru lay still. Naru continued to stare forward as she waited for the next move from her apparent tormentor. However, the anticipation of this 'next' move was beginning to wear down what little sanity she had left. She tentatively peered up to the dark shadow next to her. Sweat continued to pour down her tear stained face as she forcibly silenced the voice in her mind to not meet those cold eyes again. She shut her eyes and allowed another drip of water to pass down her face. A pause as she built up enough courage to face Kanako. A face that was both familiar reminder of a wondrous time in her life, and yet, a face that she now wishes she could tear every thread of existence from her memory.

The face, covered in darkness, stared down at her target. Only a stray light reflected in those eyes.

Kanako raised the wrench back in a quick move.

Naru held her breath. Terrified to the bone, Naru shut her eyes as hard as she can and quickly looked away.

Outside Cat's Paw

Kitsune strolled down the bustling streets in this district outside Tokyo. The crowded sidewalk left very little room for movement for those that dared experience the 'nightlife' in this area of the city. Those that valued personal space would have a hard time here given that there seemed to be a contest on how 'few' people you could bump in a block or two. With most people losing that contest by a wide margin.

Kitsune wore a more modest dress shirt with a white undershirt on, as well as plain jeans and brown casual shoes. She decided not trying to attract any 'unnecessary' attention during this tense time. While she was still attractive, after all, you can not hide her well endowed chest, there was something more important than giving the other gender something to drool over.

She passed by one of the many neon signs hanging over her. She noted two police officers in standard uniform passed by her left side. Something that normally would not have given much of a reaction before, given the notoriety of the Cat's Paw as a rough and edgy bar. Rowdy customers was the norm especially if said customers had too much to drink at Happy Hour. True, most of the people that caused the trouble were foreigners compared to the local populous, but this raucous was what made the Cat's Paw so appealing as well as infamous.

Of course this night was a much different occasion.

"Miss Konno, do you hear me?" A voice spoke through the ear piece that was in her ear.

"Yeah I hear you." Kitsune whispered.

"What?" A loud eardrum piecing voice questioned.

Kitsune grimaced as the sound rang loud and clear. It was clear the man on the other side of the ear piece, Inspector Ishikawa, could not hear her from the street noise around her. She eyed the area, and noted a small alleyway next to her. She was hesitant of entering the semi-dark alleyway, illuminated only by a light that hung above a side door to one of the buildings. However, if it prevented the Inspector from screaming through the earpiece again, it would make sure she would not go deaf in that ear. Besides, if anything did happen to her, she had cops watching her back right? After making sure no one suspicious was in the alleyway, or any place that could be deemed a 'hiding spot' for someone that was, she tentatively stepped foot into it. Sure enough, once she entered the narrow passage, the ambient sounds subsided.

"Yes?!" Kitsune said in the harshest tone she could muster, without raising her voice above a whisper.

"Good." Inspector Ishikawa said in a more casual tone. "You know what to do don't you?"

Kitsune sighed. She did not feel comfortable being the 'informant' of sorts in this situation. But after repeated attempts by the police to get answers from the bartender all failed, along with the owner of the club threatening to sue the police for harassment, they decided to turn to someone who they believed would be able to give them their answers. Someone who was a familiar and friendlier face to say, the gruff police officers that just passed her by.

"You mean just talk to him and simply drop a few hints that would hopefully give me answers?" Kitsune rolled her eyes at the almost overtly simple command. "I think even one of Su's sister's animal could understand it."

"…it's easier said than done." Ishikawa retorted. "If you go on too hard, he might suspect something and keep quiet."

"And I thought the bartender wasn't a suspect?" Kitsune replied with a bit of skepticism.

"He isn't." Ishikawa gruffly said. "But given how dangerous the people we're dealing with here, getting information about them could be problematic. Having a friendly _regular_ that also had some connection to what had recently happened should give us a leg up."

"And what's with the wire?" Kitsune continued skeptically. "Can't trust my own words?"

"Just added insurance." Ishikawa said. "This will help us once we get these sons of bitches. It can't be used as evidence in a court case, especially if we were somehow unable to protect him. But it should at least get us the warrant to go after the perps."

"Well whatever." Kitsune peered out into the street, making sure there was no one eavesdropping on their conversation. She turned towards the back alleyway to make sure that her assumption that it was empty remained true. "As long as this leads to Keitaro and Naru being returned safely, I'll do anything."

"Which brings up another topic…" Ishikawa butted in, making sure he did not lose her before the operation commenced. "It's about your dress…"

"What?" Kitsune interrupted as she narrowed her eyes. "You wanted me to wear something even more revealing so that you had something to wank off to when you got home?"

"What?!" Ishikawa jolted with astonishment with what Kitsune said. "No! Absolutely nothing like that! I mean, I have a wife and… It…" Ishikawa took a big sigh before he continued. "It's all about normalcy here. If you somehow came in wearing something that isn't your usual attire, that too, can tip him off that something isn't right."

"Sheesh." Kitsune frowned at the implication. "What do you take me for, a slut?" Kitsune continued before Ishikawa could object. "Besides…" Kitsune closed her eyes for a second before reopening them. Hoping that when she reopened her mouth, she would not be screaming through the wire. "Something isn't right about today. After all, how would I react when my two best friends are kidnapped?"

"…okay, okay, fine. Sorry for mentioning it." Ishikawa agreed. "Now, begin the operation and get him talking. Even the smallest information could be important."

Kitsune sighed. "Okay, here goes." Kitsune, checking the alley way again to make sure no one was eavesdropping, quickly rounded the corner and headed towards her destination. The Cat's Paw.

Cat's Paw

Kitsune shoved the thick paint-chipped metal door open. The door swung opened and she entered the small establishment, which can basically be said to be a hole in the wall. Kitsune gave a tentative wave to the Bartender.

The bartender stopped wiping the counter for a moment, and gave a brief glance at Kitsune. Recognition instantly took hold as he welcomed her. "Irashaimase! The usual lady?"

"Hehehe. You certainly know me." Kitsune winked at the man as she took her usual seat.

The bartender placed a small paper coaster before placing the glass cup in front of Kitsune.

Kitsune stared at the dark colored liquid placed in front of her. She downed the shot as quickly as she can, ignoring the incoming protest in her ear. She could barely hear what Ishikawa said. Something about not drinking on the job or something. She placed the glass shot and beckoned for another one. "Just like old time huh?"

"What do you mean?" The bartender peered up at the unusual question from a regular.

Kitsune blinked as she wondered exactly what she meant with that question. "I meant the cops I passed by before I entered. I'm just surprised they weren't taking a drunk away." Kitsune raised an eyebrow. Her senses dulled a bit, but a single shot was not enough to give her even a hint of a buzz. "You seemed tense. It looks like you need this more than I do?" Kitsune chuckled a bit.

The bartender's eyes relaxed. "Oh, that was nothing. They just asked me a few questions."

"Really?" Kitsune eyes perked up. "What was this all about?"

"Oh it was nothing." The bartender continued to wipe a cup on the counter. "They just asked a few questions. That's all."

"So does it have anything to do with the recent kidnapping?" Kitsune blurted out.

The bartender became very quiet. "What do you mean?"

Kitsune winced as another barrage of profanity laced reprimands were coming from her eyepiece. "Um, well…"

The bartender shifted his eyes from side to side. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about." The bartender slammed the glass down on the counter and glared at her. "Are you feeling alright?"

Kitsune realized the bind she was in. Ishikawa continued to beret her for the collapse of the operation. Kitsune's eyes narrowed, her joyous attitude gone. A more serious tone took hold. "No." Kitsune replied in a low dark tone. She downed another glass and slammed it on the counter. "Especially when your two best friends are disappear, and their face is all over the news."

"Oh…" The bartender backed up a bit. "What makes you think that has anything to do with me?"

"When did I say that you had anything to do with it?" Kitsune tapped the bar, indicating she needed another drink. "Though I did hear a few things from those two police officers that just passed me by. It's amazing what a few naughty words can do to get them to talk."

The bartender nervously grinned. "You do have a way with words." The bartender poured her another shot of sake.

"Yeah." Kitsune downed that drink. Her vision began to waver. But she still had a ways to go. "Of course the police are being a bunch of pricks. You'd think they would have a little more sympathy given how my two best friends were up and taken by someone."

The bartender shifted his eyes again. He leaned in closer to Kitsune with his elbows on the counter. "I might know something about it."

Kitsune smiled a bit, but gave a questioning look at him. "Now why would I want to know that?"

"What you do with this bit of juicy info… I'll leave that up to you." The bartender noted. He looked confused as to why he would reveal anything. But seemed to have passed it off as just his better side getting to him. "Just remember you didn't hear it from me…"

Unknown Location - Basement

**Creak!**

Naru opened her eyes. The constant drip of water that she felt subsided. She looked to up at the pipe and where the source of drops came from. Above her in the dimly lit room, the shadowy female figure stood over her with the wrench, tightening the bolt.

"There." Kanako brought the wrench into her hand and knelt down and faced Naru. Her face inches from Naru. "That should take care of that pesky leak." Kanako took out a handkerchief and wiped Naru's face. "Now, let's have a little talk shall we?"

Naru took a few deep breaths. She gritted her teeth and glared back at Kanako. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Naru let out a loud screech.

Kanako shut her eyes, apparently grimacing by the loud piecing noise. Though Naru could not tell in the darkness, and Kanako's mask covered face.

Naru continued for a minute. Her lungs emptied, and was forced to stop and take in a breath. She did not continue however and just sat there, staring at Kanako.

Kanako lightly shook her head. "Now now, did you finally let that all out of your system?" She took her gloved hand, and lightly caressed Naru's face.

Naru flinched at the touch of the plastic on her face. She tried in vain to get away from the touch. Succeeding only in lowering her head in her bound state. "What is it that you want?"

"What I want?" Kanako cocked her head. "All I want is to talk. What makes you assume I want anything else?" Kanako said if as she was talking to a child.

Naru gritted her teeth. "Well, why else would you… you hurt me and bring me here?!" Naru said in an elevated tone, careful not to strain her voice.

"Now now." Kanako stood up and ushered her maid over. "We shouldn't be making assumptions now." she placed the wrench on the tray that the maid was holding out. "I did nothing of the sorts. All I wanted was to make sure you were safe and sound from those 'bad' men."

"Bullshit!" Naru curtly let out. "You were there. I saw you! And and…" Naru wiggled from side to side, indicating her confinement. "And this?!"

"Oh Naru, I only did that to protect you." Kanako knelt down. "After all, I don't want you, hurting yourself now." Kanako cocked her head.

**Pth!**

Naru spat at Kanako. A streak of spittle dripped down her face. Kanako brought out another handkerchief and wiped her face. "And all the things I've done for you… and this is how you repay me."

Naru agitated. "You did for me?" Naru's confinements clanged to the pipe. Resonating throughout the basement. "What you did to me? You bitch!"

"Now now Narusegawa." Kanako stood up and place a foot on Naru's leg, stopping Naru's movements. "I told you that you are a guest in my house. You wouldn't want to face my wrath now do you?" She beckoned her maid over. "But don't worry Naru. I'm not mad."

"What, what are you planning to do?" Naru's breath quickened.

"I'm just going to give you a makeover." Kanako's eyes glared down at Naru. She placed her hands on a pair of long sharp scissors. "You'll going to love the new you." Kanako's hand was on the scissors. She opened and closed them as she slowly knelt down besides Naru. "Snip, snip, snip…"

"Naru continued to shift and turn as much as she can. "No. Please don't! No… No… NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Yokohama Police Station

"And you thought I'd screw this up." Kitsune grinned at the inspector. "Maybe I should make this my day job. He was on my like putty!"

"Don't get too cocky." Ishikawa bit back. He was sitting at his cluttered filled desk typing at his computer. The monitor had post-it stickers all over the rim of the screen. "If what that bartender said was true, then what we're dealing with here is just a couple of everyday gang-bangers."

"You sure about that?" Motoko, standing behind Kitsune, asked in a demure tone. "Why would a few street thugs care about Keitaro and Naru?"

Ishikawa frowned. "That's the main problem." Ishikawa swiveled the monitor around towards Kitsune, Motoko, and . "The two perps, Sato Ito, and Suzuki Jiro. Arrested on drug charges a few years ago, and was just released last month." Ishikawa rubbed his chin. "The most they have ever done was push a few drugs on the street. Kidnapping is quite a bit of a step up for them."

"Well then…" Su did cartwheels behind Ishikawa. "We should grab them off the street, bind them, and force them to tell us where Naru and Keitaro is!"

"It's… not that easy…" Ishikawa meekly said before being interrupted again.

"Ara ara! And if they refuse to talk, we can hold their feet to the fire, and dangle them over boiling oil." Mutsumi beamed.

"…" Ishikawa looked at the innocent looking woman. "Sometimes that girl scares me." He turned back to the other women in the room. "Look, we have rules and regulations we have to follow. Right now we have to wait for the judge to approve arrest warrant them."

Haruka crossed her arms. "What do you mean? Why can't you just detain them now? It isn't like we're charging them right away."

"Yeah." Kitsune eyes narrowed. "I've seen enough Law and Order to know how things are supposed to work. You ask them to come to the police station for a few questions, and then your charge them when you have the evidence."

"…this isn't the United States…" Ishikawa weakly defended. "Besides, we're also trying to prevent a lawsuit coming our way if we arrested them prematurely."

"Lawyers and bureaucracies." Haruka took out a cigarette and placed it in her mouth. "Gotta love them."

Kitsune eyed Ishikawa with suspicion. "Well, if you say so… as long as we get them to tell us where Naru and Keitaro are, we should be fine."

"Anyways, we've already tracked them down." Ishikawa sat back in his chair. "All we have to do is wait for the judges order, and give the word."

Haruka lit her cigarette and took a few puffs. "Though if you are correct and they are just your everyday gang-bangers, then it's clear that someone hired them to do the job."

Su stopped her cart wheeling, and turned to Haruka. "You don't suppose it was Kanako wasn't it?"

"I… don't know anymore." Haruka answered. "She did disappear after Grandma Hina died. We've lost all contact with her after the funeral."

Ishikawa frowned and looked down in a contemplated pose. "I was hoping Urashima-sama's death wouldn't have stopped it. If this means that a resurgence…"

Haruka eyed Ishikawa suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"

"Uh… nothing." Ishikawa quickly said as his cell phone buzzed. He flipped his phone opened and noted a text message on the screen. "The warrants been approved. Let's go!"

Unknown Location – Keitaro's Room

Keitaro tossed and turned on the opulent bed. He tried to put up a brave face. He tried to sound confident in Kanako's word. That she was doing everything in her power to find and protect Naru. His precious Naru. Yet, he could not get the feeling out of his heart that someone was amiss here. "Naru, Naru…" He patted the area where Naru would normally be if they were sleeping together in their more modest bed.

Keitaro uncovered the covers, and sat on the edge of the bed. His breath in rapid succession. The uncertainty gnawing at him. "I have to know where Naru is! I have to find her!"

He pushed himself off the bed and walked to the closet. It was full of his clothes. Everything from his underwear, his pajamas, his everyday clothes, and even the suit that he wears to work. It seemed Kanako was able to get a big chunk of clothing from his apartment. A task that baffled Keitaro a bit since it seemed a bit extreme on Kanako's part. It's like she made this, this huge mansion, his home now. What's missing however was Naru's clothing. This further fueled his suspicions. "Why did she get my clothes, and not Naru?"

As he did a double take on his surroundings again, he had to admit, he would love to have this place as his and Naru's bedroom. He could just imagine little Keitaro Junior running around the bed, asking if they could play outside.

"Outside…" Keitaro shot his head to the decorated doorway. He took a few steps towards them before stopping. "Should I ask that maid if I can go outside?" Keitaro frowned. "Wait, why would I need anyone's permission to leave? I mean, this is Kanako's house and all… I think." Keitaro gave an uneasy chuckle. "Besides, it's late night. She should probably be sleeping by now…" Still, something about this place felt uneasy to him. He grabbed the door handle and turned.

The door creaked open. He peered down the dark hallway, illuminated only by the moonlight beaming through the windows. He slowly took a step out into the long deep hallway.

Unknown Location - Hallway

His bedroom door shut behind him with a soft click. Keitaro scanned the hallway again, which was lined on one side by windows that went from ceiling to floor. On the other side were European style medieval paintings, and candle shaped light fixtures in-between them.

The ceiling was even more impressive, with arches and a chandelier separated every few yards down the hallway. Whoever built this mansion must have been rich beyond imagination.

Keitaro sighed. As much as he enjoyed the architecture of this building, his mind was focused on only one thing. "I have to find Naru. There must be a way to get out of here." He walked down at a steady pace as he headed towards what he believed was where the dining room was. His mini-tour was not sufficient enough to have had him memorize where every room was. As he walked down the long hallway, he began to have the sneaking suspicion that it would take days to figure out where every room was.

Keitaro stopped. "I don't even know where the entrance is." The first thing he remembered was waking up at the dining table in front of Kanako. The only places that he went with Agafia was to his bedroom. Or at least the bedroom Kanako apparently designated him to stay in.

He still had tons of questions he wanted to ask Kanako, but right now, the only thing on his mind was getting out. Failing that, a phone call to the outside world would suffice. Exploring at this time of night did not seem to be a wise thing to do, as Keitaro noted when he bumped into an end table with a fairly big vase. Contrary to Keitaro's luck, the vase, after a bit of swaying, stayed on the base. Keitaro gave a big sigh, thankful that he did not have to explain to Kanako why one of her vases was broken.

Keitaro took a few steps back from the end table and peered down the hallway again. "Maybe the stairs are at end of this hallway." He headed that way as the unease in his stomach failed to subside. The night was quiet, with only the sound of his footsteps breaking the silence.

Kazu Bar

"Damn it!" The portly bald man nasally said. His nose had a bandage in the middle. "That bitch knew how to throw a punch."

"You're tell me." His skinnier companion noted as he rubbed the back of his bandaged forehead. "That Goth chick better pay up like she promised."

"Yeah she better." The fat man downed another shot of tequila. "If she fails to give us the payment, I'm going to make sure this cock is rammed up her tight ass."

"Heh." The skinner man smirked. "Would suit her well given the shit she had us do."

"Sato-san and Suzuki-san."

The two men looked behind them.

"Who's asking?" The fat man said with suspicion.

The well dressed man stood behind them. He wore a black suit, white shirt, black tie, and expensive looking black shoes. He wore sunglasses and had a short beard that covered the area around his mouth.

"Sato-san…" The man addressed the fat man. He turned to the skinny man. "Suzuki-san."

"Yeah. What do you want?" Suzuki eyed the man suspiciously.

"You should not be insulting my employee." The glasses wearing man warned. "Especially to those that don't know their place."

"What did you say?" Suzuki stood in front of the bar. He took a few steps towards the man.

Sato placed a hand on Suzuki's chest holding him back. "I assume you're here for our payment." Sato glared at the man. It was clear he did not like the man. But even he was not stupid enough to let paycheck pass by because of a silly altercation.

"I am." The well dressed man replied. He held up a black suitcase in front of him. "Of course, your payment has nothing to do with money."

"What?!" Sato rose up from his stool. "Are you saying she's reneging on our contract?!" Sato grabbed the man's tie.

"After your poor performance on the… acquisition, my master has decided a much more fitting payment for the two of you."

"That's bullshit." Sato lifted his fist back. "Tell your master this!"

The well dressed man slammed the palm of his hand into Sato's forearm, the arm that had the hand that held his tie. Swirled to Sato's side, grabbed the back of Sato's neck and slammed him to the ground.

"You fucker." Suzuki took a knife out from his belt and lunged at the well dressed man.

With one foot on Sato back, the well dressed man shifted to the side, grabbed a hold of the knife welding arm, crushed a knee into Susuzki's chest, and shoved him to the ground on top of Sato. The well dressed man clicked open the suitcase and allowed a few blades to fall. Before each one hit the ground, he grabbed the handle, and sent them each to Sato and Suzuki's limbs. Pinning them to the ground.

"Ahhhhhh!" A man in the corner, with scruffy hair and a brown jacket, fell out of his chair, and rushed out the entrance.

The well dressed man ignored the leaving man and knelt down next to Sato and Suzuki.

"Ah…" Sato grimaced in pain. "You… fuck…" Blood pooled around his limbs.

"My master doesn't take kindly to mistakes." The well dressed man sneered. "Prepare to be cleansed in the fire of damnation."

The well dressed man stood up, dusted himself off, and walked towards the back exit.

Outside Kazu Bar

"What's going on?" Ishikawa roughly said as he watched a man race out of the bar.

"We don't know." A uniformed police officer replied. He stood on the sidewalk across the street from the bar. "There could be some sort of altercation…"

"Is that so?" Haruka noted with bemusement. "You don't suppose something is happening to those gang-bangers now do you?"

"Shit." Ishikawa noted. He grabbed the receiver from his patrol car. "All officers, proceed no…"

**BOOM!**

A earthshaking boom permeates the area. Steel, tile, glass, and dust scattered everywhere. A car that was parked next the bar flipped over and landed on its roof. Flames spewed everywhere. The heat and the dust reached the officers. Ishikawa and the police officers instinctively flinched and raised a hand over their eyes as the dust covered them.

"Get the fire fighters, paramedics…" Ishikawa gave out a hacking cough. "Damn it! Get every police officers down here."

Police officers, after recovering from the sudden shock of the quick turn of events, began directing the pedestrians on the street to safety.

Car alarms blared up and down the streets and in the distance.

Kitsune and Motoko watched in horror as the bar that their suspect was being held at, was reduced to nothing more than flames and dust. Both were glad Su, Mutsumi, decided to join Ema back at the dorms. Neither of them wanted the others to be this close to the danger.

Haruka however, stood firm and allowed the dust to wash over her. "I take this as bad sign isn't it?" Haruka said nonchalantly. She took another puff from her cigarette.

"Sir." A police officer in uniform rushed up to Ishikawa. "We caught the man."

"What man?" Ishikawa glared back at the officer. "The man that did this Officer Tomoko?"

Tomoko shook his head. "No. The man that ran out minutes before the blast."

Ishikawa glared back at the officer. "Get him to the police station immediately! We have to protect him at all cost."

"Yes sir!" Tomoko saluted. He rushed back to his squad car.

"This night just got a whole lot worse." Ishikawa sighed. He was not looking forward to the overtime.

Unknown Location - Hallway

"There, now don't you look much prettier?" Kanako held up a cracked mirror in front of Naru.

Kanako had rendered Naru's once long and sleek hair into a rough and more tomboyish look. Her clothes was covered Naru's severed hair. Naru big her lip as she forced herself not to cry. Not in front of this woman at least.

"Next time, I think I'll bring the razor." Kanako mused to herself. "That way, I can make you look even prettier!"

"Are you happy now?" Naru spat out. A few tears falling from her eyes. "Have enough your sick fun yet?"

"Oh Naru," Kanako cocked her eye as she brought the sheers closer to Naru's chest. "The fun has just begun."

Unsure about Kanako's next move. Naru held her breath and remained as still as possible.

Kanako brought the sheers towards the bottom of Naru's shirt. The thin cotton material slowly gave way to the sharp edge of the blade. Kanako did not even need to snip as she slowly brought it the scissor to the collar. As the last piece of thread gave way on the loose shirt, the shirt fell to the side of Naru's ample bra covered chest. Kanako began to snicker.

Naru's bra covered the entire breast, leaving almost everything to the imagination beyond the 'mounds'.

"Why Naru, I always knew you were modest." Kanako snickered. "But this is taking it a bit far. When I was rummaging around in your drawer, I always thought your undergarments were much more revealing than this."

"I'm… six months pregnant." Naru quietly answered. "I can't exactly be wearing scantily clothing now."

"Maybe." Kanako smirked as she brought the blade towards the middle of Naru's bra.

Naru held her breath. Unlike her shirt, Naru's bra was form fitting and close to her skin. She refused to let go of her breath.

Slight tear appeared on the bra at the blades edge. "It seems so tight on you. I assume you have trouble breathing."

The tear grew bigger and bigger. Kanako was careful not to slit the skin. Each thin thread loosened and cut.

As the final thread was severed, Naru's breast poured out of their confinement. Her bra, now cut in two, fell to the side of her chest, following the remains of her shirt.

"Snip snip." Kanako continued and sliced the straps off. She grabbed the remains of Naru's bra, and threw it behind her. "There, now do you feel better?"

Naru remained silent, refusing to answer the Goth woman.

"Hmm." Kanako grabbed a hold of one of Naru's breast, and kneaded it. "They seem a bit bigger than I remembered. But then, that shouldn't be surprised with a 'little one' on the way right?" She made circles around her tit with her thumb, following the path of her areola. noting a bit liquid on her gloved hand. "Lactating already? But what would the baby drink?"

Naru shook her head. "That's… just colostrums. My doctor says, it's not unusual for small amount of it to leak… out."

Kanako grinned. "I should take note of that." Kanako moved her hands to the other breast and began kneading that one. "I have to admit, these are quite soft. Makes me wonder about many things."

"So, this is what you want you perv?" Naru glared back at Kanako. "You want to play with my tits all day?"

Kanako chuckled. "Oh no. My interest is only men. One man in particular actually."

The maid next to her leaned down to Kanako's ear and whispered. Kanako got to her feet and stood up. "Looks like I'll have to turn in for the night. Don't worry I'll be back real soon. I promise." She strolled towards the door. She turned back to Naru before leaving up the stairs. "Oh, and try not to catch a cold. It wouldn't be very fun if you got sick. Besides, think about your baby."

Naru waited for the loud metallic door to shut before allowing her head to drop. Fatigue taking a toll on her. Cold and exposed, the only thing she held out was the hope that the others would rescue her, and the hope to see his face again. "Keitaro…" She let out a loud shuddering cry.

Unknown Location - Hallway

Keitaro felt like he was walking in circles. Every door he tried was locked. He was not even sure if the hallway he just entered was a different one, or if he was even getting closer to the exit. He did not even find the stairs that would take him to the first floor at least.

"How big is this mansion?" Keitaro wondered out loud. "Where is the exit in this place?!"

"Keitaro?" A small mousy voice sounded.

Keitaro flinched as he eyed the source of the voice. "Agafia? What you are doing up late?"

"We, have a lot of obligations that need to be finished Ma… Keitaro." The Russian maid meekly replied. "Now please Keitaro, return to your room. Master Kanako would be worried."

"I can't." Keitaro curtly replied.

"Why?" Agafia stared at him worried.

"I have to know where Naru is!" Keitaro's voice rose a bit. "I can't… I can't sleep knowing that she's out there. Possibly in danger."

"Do… do not worry." Agafia bit the tip of her thumb. "Mistress Kanako has people wi… looking for her. She…"

"That's not good enough." Keitaro brought down a shaking fist in the air. "I… how do I get out of here."

"Keitaro…"

Keitaro cut in. "Agafia, how do I get out of here? Where's the exit? Where's phone?! Anything!" Keitaro grabbed a hold of Agafia's arms.

"Keitaro I…" Agafia's eyes became teary.

"Oniichan."

Keitaro let go of Agafia. "I… Kanako?"

"Don't tell me you're out trying to harm your maid now?" Kanako stared back at him wearing a more modest black and grey suit. Her arms crossed.

"I…" Keitaro stared at Agafia who was on the verge of tears. He bowed his head. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay." Agafia wiped a few tears away. "It is my duty to be at your disposal completely. You could… do anything to me that you please."

Keitaro shot his head up to Agafia after her response. "What? No… I…"

"Oniichan, what were you doing up this late?" Kanako asked uncaring about Keitaro's conversation with his maid.

"I… uhhh…" Keitaro swiveled towards Kanako. "Kanako! How do I get out of here? I need to find Naru!"

"Like I said Keitaro, I can't let you do that." Kanako took a few steps towards Keitaro. "It's for your own safety."

"I don't care!" Keitaro grabbed Kanako's arm. "I need to find her! She's everything to me! I can't… I can't just…"

"Keitaro." Kanako curtly replied.

"I…" Keitaro looked at where his hands were. "I'm… I'm sorry. I'm just…"

"There there." Kanako's hand began to rim the base of Keitaro's shoulders. "It's okay. Just calm down. A good nights rest is all you need."

"I… I can't get to sleep." Keitaro's shoulders dropped. "I need to know where my Naru is!"

"Tomorrow will be a better day." Kanako smiled as her hands began to explore Keitaro's body. "Here." Kanako ushered her maid Kyoko, the Japanese maid, towards her. "All you need is a drink. It'll help calm your nerves. I'm sure Naru wouldn't want to see you like this."

"You're… right Kanako." Keitaro took a deep breath as he looked towards the tray that the Japanese maid held towards him.

On it was a Champaign glass with a clear liquid in it.

"It's okay Oniichan." Kanako rubbed Keitaro's shoulders. "Just drink it and all of your problems will go away."

Keitaro tentatively nodded as he took hold of the Champaign glass and quickly downed it. As soon as the last of the liquid left the glass, he felt his nerves loosen, and the tension fade away. He also felt the onset of sleep setting in.

Kanako grabbed the Champaign glass before it fell to the floor. Agafia took hold Keitaro as he fell unconscious.

"I promise you Oniichan, our lives will be wonderful from this night forward." Kanako smiled.

Yokohama Police Station

Ishikawa slammed the interrogation room door shut. "Okay. This is what we know so far." Ishikawa said to the three remaining women that decided to stay on the chase, rather than go back to that dorm, or whatever place they called home. However he did hear the 'princess' off looking for her own lead on the case. He frowned at the thought given that this was not exactly the spirit of cooperation. "A fat man and a thin man, I assume Sato and Suzuki, met some a man in a black suit. Some sort of fight occurred and the man in the black suit pinned the Sato and Suzuki to the ground. After that, the our witness scuttled out of there before someone decided to eliminate the joint from the map."

"So this confirms that someone hired the gang-bangers." Haruka said. Her cigarette hanging from the edge of her mouth.

Kitsune shut her hand into a fist. "We were so close to getting somewhere."

"Did he get a good look at the man in the black suit?" Motoko cut in.

"Eh hem. I'm the Inspector here." Ishikawa coughed a few times. "And yes, he did. In fact, an artist is with him right now coming up with a sketch."

-Later…

"And here it is." Ishikawa showed the sketch of the face to them. "Normally I would have kept this under wraps, police procedure and all. But since in the spirit of cooperation…"

"Wait a second." Haruka eyed the sketch with great interest.

"Haruka?" Motoko eyebrow rose at the sudden intense interest Haruka gave the sketch.

The sketch was a simple one. The man, wore dark sunglasses, his cheeks caved him, his hair slicked back, thick eyebrows, and an oval goatee. At first glance, it could have been anyone.

But Haruka was staring at the sketch with much intensity.

"Ursashima-san…" Ishikawa wearily eyed Haruka.

"I've seen this man before."

* * *

-End of Chapter 6

Not much to say. Other than, World of Warcraft is the great Evil! That and, one more class to finish before I 'hopefully' graduate. Oh, and a bit of warning. The last bit of this chapter, didn't get my usual 'look over' as I usually do (it's 4 am right now). I might go back and fix it later but… yeah. I'm just happy to have finished (if unpolished) the update.

I hope to get more writing done. I would have done some more if it wasn't for that evil WoW. And oh, Wrath of the Lich King is coming out this week (DAMN YOU ALL!).

Anyways, tentative schedule is to attempt at least, write the next chapter of Fallen Blade and Fullmetal Evangelion. Conflicted Hearts should be in there too.

Next time… Who is this man that Haruka recognizes? Will it take them one step further to finding Naru and Keitaro? And what secret does the Urashima family hold? Until then, later!


	7. Chapter 7

-1-Brother's Keeper Chapter 7

-Don't need to tell you it's been a while since I last updated this story. Though admittedly, of all my fics that haven't been updated in a while, this one isn't so bad.

-I've also noticed that two fics seem to be inspired by this one. One I'm pretty sure is even though he didn't mention it directly (since he wanted to keep the ending as a surprise). The other has a concept and details that seemed to be a bit more than coincidental to this fic. If this is true, a part of me is flattered about it. The other part? Of all the fics that inspire other people to have the same concept, it's this dark fic. A little disturbed.

-Also, while I still say this is one of my 'better' written fics, rereading the previous chapters, I noticed many many mistakes, grammatical or structural, that makes me realize where I've been, and how much I still have to go before I even consider becoming 'serious.' Maybe one day I'll go back and rewrite the previous chapters. But, for now, I'll focus on updating.

-Didn't want the Author Notes to get too long. So on with the story~

* * *

Yokohama Police Station

"I've seen this man before."

"You have," Motoko questioned as she rushed up to Haruka and held her arms. "Where? We need to find him right away!"

"Unfortunately," Haruka said, seemingly unfazed by Motoko's action. "I can't tell you much about him. Since the last time I saw him, he was one of mother's driver."

Motoko's eyes widened. "Then, then that means…"

"Supposing Kanako Urashima inherited most of mother's wealth," Haruka took a puff from her cigarette before continuing. "It's possible Kanako retained his services."

Kitsune's gasped, shocked by this revelation. "So, so it's true? I, I knew she had a few screws loose but I never thought she would go this far."

Ishikawa gritted his teeth. "Shit…"

"Something wrong Ishikawa-san," Haruka questioned as she eyed Ishikawa. Though her near aloof look did change.

"It's, it's nothing for any of you to get involved in," Ishikawa said.

"Well like it or not, we are," Haruka said. She removed the cigarette from her mouth and let out a lot long whiff of smoke. She crushed the cigarette on a nearby desk. "In the spirit of cooperation, you mind telling us what's on your mind?"

Ishikawa gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Fine. It's against my better judgment, but I'll tell you what I think is going on." Ishikawa crossed his arms as his brow twitched. "But I won't tell you now. Instead, it would be better if you gather up your little group at the Hinata Sou."

Kitsune raised an eyebrow at Ishikawa's statement. "Why would you do that?"

"If I'm going to bother telling you this confidential information, in the spirit of cooperation," Ishikawa said, mocking the last part of the sentence. "I might as well tell it to everyone in your little group."

"But why the Hinata Sou," Motoko questioned. "I, I understand why you would want to divulge this, information at once, but why not here?"

Ishikawa dropped his head. It took him a while before he answered Motoko. "Because the Hinata Sou is where everything began. And where I had hoped everything ended."

-Meanwhile…

Single Family Home on the outskirts of Hinata

Su and Ema stood in front of an inconspicuous modern looking home. A short drive or streetcar ride away from historical Hinata existed a neighborhood full of modern homes built up during the economic boom of the eighties. The area provided an escape for people that worked in Tokyo, but had enough of apartment life. This particular gabled cookie cutter home did not stand out compared to its neighbors. It was two stories, had a small gate that led to a very small courtyard and to the front door, and a small driveway on the side which was currently occupied by a compact car.

The home was bathed in darkness, with only a nearby streetlight giving the area some source of light.

Su rang the door bell. A buzzing sound could be heard through the door.

"Ummm… Kaolla-san," the bespectacled woman hesitantly said. Her knees were shaking uncontrollably. "I don't think they are home."

Su smiled. "Silly Ema-san! If that was true, why is the car parked in the driveway?"

"But, but… even if they were," Ema said freaked out, "they're probably asleep! It's really rude waking them up and…"

Su turned the handle. The door creaked open.

"Wha… wha… what?" Ema jumped back.

Su peered into the home. "Hello?"

Ema grabbed onto Su's left arm and whispered into Su's ear. "What are you doing? You can't just enter a stranger's house!"

Su made a hushing motion to Ema. "I'm just going to look around! That's all."

Su stepped into the house. Before continuing, she removed her shoes and stepped up into the hallway.

Ema reluctantly followed, removing her shoes and chased after Su on her tiptoes hoping not to make too much of a sound. Her eyes were still adjusting to the darkness of the house. "Kaolla-san, this is wrong! Eep!" A creak was heard when Ema stepped on a loose board.

"Don't worry," Su winked at Ema. "Besides, I don't think the residents here would mind."

"But, but, but…" Ema protested as she tripped over a box in the hallway. "Eep!"

Su turned down a short hallway that led to the living room. "After all, the residents here are local drug dealers."

"WHA…" Ema quickly covered her mouth. She cast her eyes from side to side, hoping if the residents were asleep, they did not wake and find them. "That makes it even worse," she said in a hushed tone. "We need to get out of here!"

"Not after I confirm something," Su said in a playful tone.

"Are you kidding me," Ema whispered in a freak out tone. Her shaking continued. "We're talking about drug dealers here! Bad guys! They might have swords, knives, maybe even guns! It's dangerous!"

Su's smile did not dissipate. "I don't think we have to worry about that."

"But but…" Ema continued to shake. It also reminded herself that she did not take a leak before this excursion. "This is something we have to leave up to the cops! They have weapons and stuff! They could protect us if we run into them! They…"

"Ema-san, you don't smell that?"

"What," Ema momentarily calmed down as Su's unusual question sank in. "What does that have to do with anything? And…" Ema sniffed. An overwhelming iron, and ammonia smell reached her nose. As well as slight putrid stench. "What… is that?"

***Bzzz***

Ema waved her hand at the offending insect.

"Remember those two gang bangers that took Naru and Keitaro," Su said as she reached for the light switch.,"they worked under a man and a woman that lived in this house."

"How did you find out," Ema said. She slapped a fly away that was buzzing near her head. The living room became illuminated causing Ema to momentarily cover her eyes. "Hey! You shouldn't do…" As her eyes readjusted to the light, Ema's eyes widened by the image she saw in front of her.

"See? I told you we had nothing to worry about," Su's said smiling. Though that smile was constrained.

In the living room, a woman lay slumped on a nearby wall. Blood and brain matter were splattered on the wall above her. A single bullet hole was on her forehead can be seen. Her skirt was noticeably stained as her bladder was emptied upon death. Maggots covered the wounds on her head.

On the couch lay a man sprawled across it. His head was slumped to the side as brain matter and bone fragments were splattered across the couch. Similarly, his pants was also stained, and maggots can be seen crawling over his face.

"Given the number of maggots on the body, looks like they've been dead for a while," Su said as she surveyed the room. "No signs of the bodies being moved, shell casings still on the floor, the bullets are probably even imbedded in the wall and floor… I think this death was supposed to set an example."

"De… de… dea…" Ema felt her stomach churn. She covered her mouth as she no longer could hold it in. She turned to the side and vomited her day's meal.

"This was the last known residence of Kanako Urashima," Su's face hardened.

Ema spit out a bit of bile as her stomach threatened to further empty its contents. "That, that means that she was the one that, took, Sen… pai?"

Su nodded. "That's not the only thing I discovered. Kanako didn't simply choose this residence on a whim. It's the name on the deed to this house that disturbed me."

"Why," Ema said as mouth puffed out as the last remained contents of her stomach came up.

"This house didn't belong to this couple," Su said. Her eyes narrowed before she continued. "The name on the deed to this house was Hina Urashima."

-The Next Morning…

Unknown Location - Keitaro's Room

"Hmm. Hmph. What happened last night," Keitaro groggily said as he slowly opened his eyes. A slight blush appeared on his face as he felt some wetness on his lower half. "Naru, that feels good. Yes, mo…" Keitaro's eyes shot open. "Na… ru?" He peered down his bed. Without his glasses, all he could see was a blurry mass in front of him. He reached to the end table for his glasses and put them on.

A mass of blond hair was bobbing up and down on his stiffened exposed member. Her soft hand gripping it. Her tongue running down its length. Through the blond hair, her lust filled eyes met Keitaro's. She paused her motion. A wry smile appeared as she continued to pleasure him.

Unknown Location - Outside Keitaro's Room

"AIEEEEEEEEEEE!" The loud screamed echoed down the hallway.

Unknown Location - Keitaro's Room

"Ma… Ma… Ma… Mast… Keitaro-san," Agafia shakily said as tears streamed down her face. "Did I do something wrong?"

Keitaro jumped out of bed while desperately holding onto the blanket in order to cover his exposed lower half. He scooted back to the opposite side of the wall. Though the blanket caught on the bed post and so only a small portion remained to help Keitaro cover up. "What, what, what, were you doing?"

"I, was just helping you wake up," Agafia said. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"That, that, that's not how you wake someone up," Keitaro frantically said.

The door flung open.

"Oniichan! Something wrong," Kanako asked in a cheery voice.

"Eep! Kanako don't come in," Keitaro frantically waved at her.

"Silly oniichan, I've seen it plenty of times!" Kanako giggled.

"We were young kids," Keitaro said with stream of tears. "It's different now."

Kanako ignored Keitaro's last statement and turned to Agafia. "So Agafia-san, what happened here?"

"Mistress, I was just giving Master Keitaro a pleasant wake up call," Agafia bowed her head. "I apparently offended Master Keitaro."

"Oniichan," Kanako turned to Keitaro. "If Agafia-san failed in her duties, I can have her replaced."

"That's not it!" Keitaro waved at Kanako fearing that his reaction might have meant Agafia being fired. "It's just that, that… I'm a married man! I'm not supposed to… you know, do that with anyone but Naru!"

"But oniichan, she's only doing what a maid is supposed to do," Kanako grinned. "And weren't you enjoying it oniichan?"

"I don't… I don't think that's what maids are supposed to do," Keitaro protested. He knew maids in eroges did this kind of thing. But that was fantasy meant to gratify a perverted male's fetish. The fact that it was also one of Keitaro's fetishes not withstanding. "And that's not the point. I…" He stood up still holding the blanket to his groin. "I love Naru and only Naru! I won't be tempted by someone else!"

"Now oniichan. If you don't tell her, I won't," Kanako said. "Besides, I'm sure Narusegawa won't mind at all."

"That's… that's a lie," Keitaro said. "If Naru found out, she'd, she'd kill me! Especially when she sees how pretty, I mean…"

Agafia blushed.

"Now now oniichan," Kanako took a few steps forward towards Keitaro. "If Narusegawa really loved and trust you, you'd have nothing to worry right? It's all just a big misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding, yeah. That's, all this is," Keitaro said with trepidation.

"I'm sorry Keitaro-san," Agafia bowed. "I, I won't do it again unless you ordered."

"I don't think I'll ever order you to do, I mean I'll never order you to do something you don't want to do, that. But, thank you," Keitaro scratched the back of his head. Not realizing it was the one holding the blanket. Until he felt a bit of a breeze on his lower area. "Eep!" He grabbed the blanket to recover his now limp penis.

"Oh? Who said she didn't enjoy it?" Kanako turned to Agafia. "Did you not enjoy it?"

"I, no. I mean, Master Kanako, I enjoyed it greatly," Agafia bowed her head.

Keitaro began to sweat. "It's not that." His penis was threatening to harden. "No! I'm married. See?" Keitaro quickly looked at his ring finger. "I'm loyal only to…" Keitaro's eyes widened. "My… my ring. Where's my ring?" Fear gripped Keitaro's heart. Keitaro patted down his shirt, the nearby end table, and looked under the blanket. Apparently ignoring the fact that by doing so, his member was once again exposed.

"Oniichan," Kanako said as she held up a small wedding ring. "You're looking for this? It seems you misplaced it when you were washing your hands last night."

Keitaro recognized it immediately. "My wedding ring!" A wave of relief washed over him.

"Catch." Kanako threw the ring towards Keitaro.

Keitaro reached for the ring, but it sailed past him. He tripped on the blanket and crashed into the end table. He fumbled some more as he finally got his target. Not realizing he was pointing his ass towards Agafia and Kanako. "My wedding ring." He placed the ring back on his ring finger as tears of joy streamed down his face. "I don't know what I would do if I lost it."

"You're so clumsy oniichan," Kanako grinned. "I know how important that ring is to you."

Hinata Sou

***Knock* *Knock* *Knock***

Shinobu ran up and opened the entrance door. She bowed to the visitors. "We, we, welcome to the Hinata Sou."

Ishikawa wheezed and gasped. His face dripping with sweat. "I'm getting too old for this. Can't you guys add like, an escalator or something?"

"That would take away the historical charm of the place," Tomoko said. His arms full of documents, and a big blue print sized paper. "Besides, it's very good exercise."

"Ugh," Ishikawa heaved. "Say that again when you're my age."

"P, p, please have a seat," Shinobu gestured to the nearby couch in the reception area.

Ishikawa surveyed the room. "So, everyone is here I assume?"

Haruka leaned back on a nearby hallway while smoking a cigarette. Kitsune, Mutsumi and Ema sat on one side of the couch. Across from them on the second couch sat Motoko and Su. A third couch in the middle facing one of the hallways remained empty.

"Everyone that matters," Haruka said. "We'd all like to hear what you have to say."

"Hmph," Ishikawa sat down on the empty couch. "Ah. My legs."

"Um, I'll get some tea," Shinobu said as she trotted off to the kitchen.

"Hmph." Haruka glanced at Tomoko. "While we wait for Shinobu to come back, want drop all that stuff you have?"

"Well, I don't want to just dump it on the table," Tomoko bashfully said. "I mean, it would be rude for the girl to not to have a place to, put the tray on."

Ishikawa sighed. "At least sit down."

"Yes sir," Tomoko said. He made his way to the couch. A few of the items in his arms slipped and few to the floor. He carefully knelt down picked each item up as he tried to cover his embarrassment.

A few minutes later, Shinobu returned with tea in hand. She handed it to the police officers and placed the tray on the table.

Ishikawa took a sip from the tea. "Hmm. This is really good young lady." Ishikawa smiled at Shinobu.

"Th, tha, thank you mister," Shinobu blushed.

Ishikawa placed the tea down on the table and sat back. "Hmph. Now that everyone is here…" He reached over and took one of the documents that Tomoko held. "How much do any of you know about the Urashima family?"

"Eh," Motoko's widened by the unusual question. "What do we know?"

"The family. What does it do, what is it known for," Ishikawa clarified.

"Ummm…" Kitsune blinked as she thought back about everything she knew. "Well, I know the Hinata Sou has been in their family for generations. Grandma Hina owned the Hinata Sou before passing it down to Keitaro. And Keitaro's parents owned a bakery." Kitsune glimpsed back to where Haruka was. "And Haruka owned the café at the base of the stairs before her marriage."

Haruka growled and gritted her teeth.

"…something I'll not make light of in the near future," Kitsune sheepishly said.

"And senpai is an archeologist," Shinobu added.

"And senpai, he's now a professor at Todai," Ema said, squirming in her seat. She looked anxiously at Su.

"Ara," Mutsumi smiled. "That's, about it. Well also that Kei-kun is clumsy and…"

Kitsune covered up Mutsumi's mouth. "I don't think he needs to know that. Heheh."

"That's about as much as I know too," Motoko said. "I don't see what this has to do with Kanako."

"Yeah," Kitsune's face darkened. "We didn't know much about her when she came but, but this?"

"Ara, so it was Kanako-san that took them," Mutsumi asked.

"Hmph. We don't know that. But it's beginning to point that way," Ishikawa crossed his arms. "And it looks like Hina-san did a much better job than I thought."

"Better job? Better job doing what," Motoko asked.

"You mean a better job at hiding her assets," Su spoke up. "Like the house near the border of Hinata with the dead drug dealers?"

"Yes, wait," Ishikawa's eyes widened. "You were the one that called it in?"

"Yup," Su nodded.

"That, that investigation you were doing," Ishikawa blinked aghast. "You actually went to a known criminal's home unprotected?"

"Yup," Su nodded again. "Just me and Ema-san!"

"Ah," Ema waved back at her. "I, I didn't want to but you kept going!"

Shinobu placed her hands on her mouth. "Su!"

"That's really dangerous," Tomoko said as he shifted his position. Causing a few more documents to fall out of his hand. "I mean, what if they were armed and dangerous!"

"And breaking an entry is illegal," Ishikawa noted. "Even if the people inside were criminals."

"I didn't want to go in," Ema said fearfully. "I just, you see…"

"Now, now, I have diplomatic immunity," Su winked at him. "I won't tell if you won't tell right? Besides, didn't I make your job much easier by getting to them before they completely rotted away? Also I knew they were dead already before I even entered."

"Ara, that's amazing Su-chan," Mutsumi clapped her hands.

Kitsune, and Motoko was astounded by Su's revelation.

"Is, this, Su," Motoko stuttered out.

"She has really changed hasn't she," Kitsune said.

Su stuck a tongue out at them.

"Hmph," Haruka sounded aloof. "How did you figure all this out?"

"Oh, just some investigative work on the last known whereabouts of Kanako," Su stated. "Wasn't surprised it was the home of the same people that worked with the men that took Keitaro and Naru." Su's face scowled. "But why was it a home owned by Hina Urashima?"

Ishikawa blinked, before settling into the couch. "That is why I'm here." Ishikawa opened a booklet containing two criminal profiles. "You see, I and the idiot next to me are part the team specifically set up to fight organized crime in the Kanto region. Specifically Western Kanto."

The group looked in awe.

Ema gulped. "Fighting organized crime? Are you telling us…"

"Let me finish first," Ishikawa stated.

Shinobu looked at Tomoko. "But, aren't you just, you know…" Shinobu was not an expert when it came to police work. But she was sure Tomoko did not fit in.

"Yeah. About that," Tomoko scratched the back of his head. "I'm not quite a investigator. I just wind up helping Ishikawa-sama."

"He's good at brining the coffee at least, though I'm starting to reassess that too." Ishikawa said. " But back to what the Princess found. That couple you saw, was only part of the puzzle. They used to work for this man." Ishikawa pointed to one of the pictures. A pudgy guy with spiky hair.

The group leaned in to look at the picture.

"Kazuya," Motoko questioned.

"Used to be the local yakuza in that part of Hinata," Ishikawa said. "His territory used to extend to the center of Hinata. At least, until we found his body floating in the river two nights ago."

Haruka, who was still in the side hallway, peeked her head around the corner. "So a bad man is dead. What does that have to do with the Urashima family?"

"Because Kazuya was once a lieutenant of Hina Urashima."

"What?" The whole group, sans Haruka said in complete shock.

"The Urashima Family, up until the point when Hina took over, was the most powerful criminal organization in not just Hinata, but much of the western Kanto region."

Unknown Location - Keitaro's Room's Bathroom

Keitaro laid down in the massive bath and let the warm water wash away his concerns. At least, that's what he had hoped. In truth, Keitaro still could not grasp the situation he was thrown in. For all intent and purposes, he was now living the life of luxury. His bed sheets were cleaned and prepared in the morning. He never had to worry about the laundry as the maids always took his dirty clothes away and washed them. The meals, he recently found out, were prepared by a professional chef three times a day that you would normally only find at high end restaurants. Keitaro even has a personal maid who was more than happy to service him in any ways that he could think of. Even with services that he thought was better left not done.

But it all felt wrong to him.

Keitaro looked at his wedding ring on his hand. All this luxury was meaningless to him. Meaningless without the woman that made him whole. Just a few days ago, he lived in a small cluttered apartment. Dirty dishes piling up in the sink, the bathroom a little dingy due to the neglect, and the futon that on occasion, he left out for the entire day. It was not glamorous, a little hectic, and especially with the baby coming, emotionally trying at times. But Keitaro would not have had it in any other way.

His hand drifted across the smooth granite surface of the bath. In the back of his mind, something that Kanako said, or did not say, began to gnaw at him. He tried to pass it off as nothing, but it still bothered him the more he dwelled on it.

When Kanako mentioned Naru, she used her last name without a honorific.

Hinata Sou

"The Urashima family, is Yakuza," Kitsune said. Her mouth twitching by the shock. "Tell me you're joking right?"

Ishikawa eyed Kitsune wearily.

"Didn't think so." Kitsune bit her lip. "But, how…" Kitsune swiveled her head towards Haruka. "Is it true Haruka?"

Haruka shrugged. "Why are you looking at me for? I don't know anything. I don't think even my brother knows anything."

"You mean your uncle right," Ishikawa noted.

"You've been looking at our family tree now," Haruka glared at Ishikawa from around the corner.

"Gah," Ishikawa grabbed onto his chest as he felt a slight tightening on his chest after catching Haruka's glare. "No, I didn't mean to bring up the family tree or anything. It's just, something Hina-sama mentioned before her passing."

"What's going on," Motoko stared at Haruka confused.

"Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag," Haruka sucked down a drag. "Hina wasn't my mother. At least by birth. She was my grandma."

Ema, Motoko, Kitsune, and Shinobu all stared flabbergasted by the newest bombshell.

"You're Grandma Hina's granddaughter," Shinobu said. "Then that means…"

"I'm also Kietaro's cousin," Haruka said.

"Then why do you call her mother than," Motoko asked tentatively. Though Haruka seemed to be freely giving out her back story, she was not sure it was the right thing to be asking.

"If you want to know, it's because Hina adopted me as her own child after my real parents, Yoko Urashima and Ken Urashima, Hina's daughter and son in law, passed away due to an accident when I was just a child," Haruka said.

"Hmph," Ishikawa sounded.

"They did die because of accident right," Haruka glared at Ishikawa.

The residents all turned towards Ishikawa.

Ishikawa scanned the room as he felt their gaze. "Yes, the official reason is that they died in an accident."

"Official," Haruka questioned.

"Um, it's not that we're trying to hide anything," Tomoko spoke up in defense of Ishikawa. "It's just that, we've found no evidence to the contrary. I know, given the history of the Urashima family that it's easy to suspect foul play. And there is some unsolved questions about it…"

"Tokomo…" Ishikawa said wearily.

"But doesn't change the fact that it was probably just an accident," Tomoko quickly added.

"Hmph," Haruka let out a long puff of smoke. "Now that you know my relationship to Hina, I'll answer the other thing that's probably on all your minds. No, I have clue that my mother, grandmother, was the head of any criminal organization. And I doubt Keitaro or his father knew either."

"How is that possible," Kitsune asked with raised eyebrow. "If she's supposed to be the head of some huge organization, I don't think there is any way to keep that a secret to everyone! Especially to her own family!"

"Who said it was a secret to everyone," Ishikawa said. "Just ask the town elders."

"Heheh. I'm not sure they'd say anything Ishikawa-sama," Tomoko scratched the back of his head.

"Hmph, I didn't say it would be easy," Ishikawa added. "But if you're persuasive enough, I'm sure they can tell you many stories about them." He glanced at the samurai girl. "You could even ask your elders about it Aoyama-san."

"My family," Motoko said aghast. "But my family is in Kyoto. And they never mentioned anything about the Urashima's before I moved here."

"You don't think the Urashima family didn't deal with people outside the Kanto region," Ishikawa said. "You don't control half of Kanto without making friends outside of it."

"And I always wondered about the men that hanged around mother from time to time," Haruka added. "I thought they were just regular guest to the Hinata Sou. Thinking back, maybe that wasn't the case."

"Still… it's unbelievable that she'd be able to keep it a secret to all of us," Kitsune said tentatively.

"Is it really," Haruka said. "How many of you knew that she had a grandson named Keitaro before he came to the Hinata Sou? How many of you knew about Kanako? And how many of you knew I wasn't Hina's daughter by birth, but grand daughter?"

"Ara, I met Keitaro when he was young," Mutsumi answered.

"So did Naru," Haruka replied. "But I don't recall her recognizing that fact when he first came here."

Ema's eyes were wide. "I, I wasn't here before." Ema gulped.

Haruka grinned. "Well, you're excused. But what about the rest of you?"

The room was quiet as realization dawned on them.

"I guess we really didn't know much about Grandma Hina," Kitsune conceded.

Their image of kindly old, if eccentric, woman began to shift.

"Does that mean that Grandma Hina, she…" Motoko bit her lip. Unable to accept what she was beginning to suspect.

"Intimidation, drugs, gun smuggling, prostitution, murder," Tomoko asked in Motoko's stead, and then answered it himself. "Yup, you name it, she was probably involved."

"Though I wouldn't say probably," Ishikawa countered.

"Nothing that could easily stand up in court," Tomoko added.

"So Grandma Hina was the head of the Urashima criminal organization," Su said. "And the Hinata Sou is the headquarters of it all?"

"You could say that," Ishikawa said. "Before this got turned into a dorm, the regular guest were usually members of the organization. If these walls could talk, I'm sure they could tell many interesting stories."

"And probably plenty of evidence to take down some big players," Tomoko added.

Ishikawa eyed Tomoko causing him to wilt back into his seat.

"But wait," Kitsune stood up as she stared at Mutsumi. "The Otohime family also ran the Hinata Sou before it was turned into a dormitory. Does that mean that, Mutsumi and her family…"

"Ara," Mutsumi gave a questioning look. "While it would be cool, I don't recall us ever being Yakuza."

Ishikawa face palmed and shook her head. "No. The business that Hina Urashima had with the Otohimes was strictly, just that, business in nature. Legitimate business in nature. Though I'd be surprised if they didn't know who most of their regular clientele were, I can confidently say that their dealings with the Urashima family is perfectly legal."

"But there is a reason why the Otohime family were involved," Tomoko said.

"I'll get to that later," Ishikawa said.

"But that still leaves one thing doesn't make sense," Su said. "If that was true, why did she turn the Hinata Sou into an all female dormitory?"

"This, is the real reason why I'm here," Ishikawa said. "And, as Tomoko-san mentioned, the reason why the Otohime family got involved with running the Hinata Sou. Remember I said the Urashima family was the most powerful criminal organization. That all changed when Hina Urashima took over as the head."

Kitsune blinked. "Why was that?"

"Because Hina Urashima hated the organization. The very organization she was born into." Ishikawa said as he grabbed another stack of papers from Tomoko and threw the papers on the table. On the papers were mug shots of a number of people, which the residents could only assume were related to the organization. "The reason why even members of her own family had no contact with the others." Ishikawa leaned forward in his seat. "Hina Urashima wanted to set her family free, by trying to destroy the beast from within."

Unknown Location - Hallway

Kietaro walked down the ornate hallway. He took the time to inspect the hallway. The gold reliefs on the columns, the ornamental marble tile, the massive painting hanging on the wall, the beauty of the hallway still overwhelmed Keitaro. He was not an expert when it came to architecture, engineering, and art, but it does not take a genius to realize that all this cost a fortune. And he still could not fathom that it was built and owned by his grandmother.

Down the hallway, Keitaro could see a number of well dressed men talking to Kanako. While he has not been in this palatial mansion for very long, he did meet at least most of the servants that went about their daily business.

And these men did not look like servants.

Keitaro walked down the hallway towards the group. One of the man coughed as he caught sight of Keitaro.

Kanako turned around when she heard his footsteps. "Oniichan! How was your bath? Agafia-san giving you any more trouble?" Kanako petted Kuro on her shoulder. Who purred in response.

Keitaro scratched the back of his head. "Heheh. No. No. She's just fine." Keitaro stopped giggling as his attention turned to the two suited men. "Um, Kanako, who are these people?"

The two men stood up and bowed to Keitaro.

"It's nice to finally meet," the man with the oval goatee spoke. "I'm Kenichi Sakamoto. I used to work for your grandmother. And now I work with Kanako-sama."

"And I'm Ryukichi Iwai," the glasses man said. "I also used to work for you grandmother as one of her lieuten…"

Kenichi glared at Ryukichi.

"As one of her executives for a company she ran," Ryukichi corrected.

"My grandmother, ran a company," Keitaro said surprised. "I didn't know she ran a company."

Ryukichi nodded. "Yes. The West Kanto Real Estate Corporation. We own hundreds of property throughout the region."

"Your grandmother actually owned many companies. That is only one of the twenty three corporations your grandmother owned," Kenichi stated. "Well, used to own. Before her passing, she reduced her holdings ten. The companies that are still under her Trust, you might have heard a few. Bun Bun Yum Bakeries? Tokyo Shipping Company?"

Keitaro's mouth was wide open. "I, I, I didn't know that my family was so wealthy. There was nothing in her will about any of this."

"It was because your grandmother tried to shield you, your parents, and your aunt from the rich lifestyle," Kenichi said. "This was on a, separate will that she wanted kept away from family members."

"Except for me," Kanako noted.

"So that means you own it all now," Kietaro said shocked. "All the companies?"

"Yes. Kanako Urashima inherited the ten remaining companies. It was, something that pained Hina Urashima greatly." Kenichi recalled. "She wanted her family to remember that hard work leads to success. And running ten companies is no easy task. She was very reluctant to simply dump the responsibilities to any of your family members before ultimately choosing Kanako as their heir to this fortune. And from what I've seen, your family has been doing just fine on their own without any further burden. Even you, Keitaro-sama, you've done quite well for yourself."

Keitaro scratched the back of his head as a slight blush appeared. "Yeah. I guess I have." An image of Naru flashed across his mind. "Oh."

Kanako smiled. "You're worried about Narusegawa right? I have some good news. And it's why they're here by the way."

Keitaro shot his head to Kanako shocked, thinking she read his mind. "Naru! You mean, there is news?"

Kenichi grimaced. "Unfortunately, it's not news we're here for."

"We are still looking for her," Ryukichi tentatively said. "But this is why we're here. To give you a little reassurance. Even if it is just a little."

"We're here to tell you that we are doing everything we could," Kenichi said. "We're willing to spend company resources to search for her."

Keitaro's eyes widened in near jubilation. "You'll do that? Please! Please find her!" He ran up and shook Kenichi and Ryukichi's hand. "I, I don't know what to say." Keitaro's mind snapped back to reality. "Wait, is that right? I… I mean you're using company resources? Shouldn't the cops be looking for her instead? And I, I want Naru to be found safe and sound but…"

"Do not worry about that," Ryukichi said. "This is an expense we believe is worth spending on. After all, she is an Urashima correct? In the name of the Urashima Family, we vow to make sure no one in the family will ever come in harms way."

"Well, she sort of kept her family name when we married," Keitaro chuckled.

Ryukishi and Kenichi stared at him with stone face.

"Ah! But, but, thanks, I just, can't thank you enough," Keitaro quickly replied back seeing as his attempt to add a little humor seemed to have failed.

"Eh hem," A man that Keitaro did not see come in sounded. "I apologize for interrupting, but there is important business that needs to be attended to, Kanako-sama."

Keitaro looked over to the newcomer in the hallway. His eyes were obscured by the fedora he wore. His suit was similar to Kenichi and Ryukichi, except a little, flashier and baggier. But it was his smile that caught Keitaro's attention.

The sinister looking smile that brought chills to Keitaro.

"Onijima-san, you're late," Kanako answered.

"I apologize," Onijima said. "I would have gotten here sooner except, an issue has recently arisen that needs your attention." He looked up and grinned at Keitaro.

Kanako sighed. "Looks like there is no getting out of it."

"Kanako, what is this about," Keitaro said anxiously as he looked at both Onijima and Kanako.

"Just some business," Kanako said. "Taking care of ten companies isn't easy. But don't worry oniichan, it shouldn't take long." She petted Kuro, "Now Kuro, give Keitaro some company while I'm away okay?"

"Mya!" The black cat jumped off Kanako's shoulder and landed squarely on Keitaro's face.

Keitaro tripped backwards and land on the ground. "Agh!"

"Keitaro-san," Agafia said from across the hallway. She jogged towards Keitaro with her hands waving in the air. "Are you alright?"

"Right this way Kanako-sama," Onijima took off his hat and gestured Kanako through the door.

Kanako walked through the doors. As she passed through, Onijima swiveled around, and shut the doors closed.

Hinata Sou

"Grandma Hina wanted to take it down," Motoko said. "But why? I thought she was a horrible criminal?"

"A few minutes ago you all thought she was a nice woman," Tomoko commented.

"Tomoko…" Ishikawa glared.

"Sorry," Tomoko lowered his head in regret.

"Hina Urashima never liked what the organization stood for, and what it did to her family," Ishikawa started, "I'd be lying to you if I said that I knew what she was thinking when I worked with her. But it was clear she was horrified by their actions and vowed to shield her children, and her grandchildren from the organization."

"And so, she essentially took the organization underground. Officially, if you can all it that, her reasoning was to keep their activities from being exposed an the increasingly digital age," Tomoko said. "Unofficially, it was to ensure her family and the people around them wouldn't know the true nature of the organization."

"If she wanted to take it all down, why didn't she just turn everyone in," Shinobu asked.

"Because you don't take down an organization this big without it turning on you," Ishikawa said. "Besides herself, there were twenty three families once associated with the Urashima Family."

"If they knew she was trying to bring them all down at once," Haruka added, "someone would have revolted."

"By the time Hina took over the organization, her son and daughter were already born. Even discounting the tragic circumstances with her daughter, someone could have easily turned against Hina, and installed one of her children." Ishikawa closed his eyes. "If you want to move the timeline even further up, you might even add the grandchildren."

"And even in the event of completely taking the Urashima Family out of the picture," Tomoko said, "you still have twenty three families to deal with. Even if half were able to escape persecution, without the iron fist of the Urashima family to keep them in line, this could lead to turf battles throughout the Kanto region."

"Imagine the bloodshed that would create," Ishikawa said. "However, the other cold truth of the matter is, none of them would have likely faced prosecution. Besides corrupt prosecutors, judges, and even members of the police force, finding enough evidence of their activities would have been near impossible. Yes, we might have gotten a few low level thugs here and there, but nothing would ever lead to the big boys."

Tomoko took out the blue print sized paper. "Here, ummm…" He looked at the coffee table in front him. The tea pot and tray were on it.

"Oh I'm sorry," Shinobu stood up and reached down to pick up the tray.

"Oh that's okay. I can do it," Tomoko reached down and tried to pick up the tea tray.

"No no. You're the guest," Shinobu reassured as she reached for the side.

"No, it's okay, I don't mind," Tomoko said as he reached for the side.

"Tomoko," Ishikawa growled. "Give me that, sit down, and let the girl work." Ishikawa grabbed the blue print.

Tomoko reluctantly let go of the tea tray and sat down. "Sorry."

"No no, it's my fault," Shinobu said with a slight blush, "I shouldn't have left it on the table."

Ishikawa sighed. "It's okay. Just, do whatever you need to do and hurry back."

"I'll, I'll be right back," Shinobu said as she ran off to the kitchen with tray in hand.

A few moments later, she returned and sat back. "Sorry for the wait."

"It's okay. You've been more than kind miss," Ishikawa said as he rolled out the blue print paper. "What you're seeing here, is the Urashima network."

Su, Ema, Motoko, Shinobu, and Kitsune all stared at the paper in awe.

There were many boxes with names on it, with lines all heading towards the center. The center which read the _Urashima__Main__Family_.

As Kitsune scanned the paper, she came across some familiar names. "Bun Bun Yum? Isn't that the bakery company?"

"Yeah," Su said, "They make some really tasty cakes!"

"That's just one of the twenty three corporations set up as the 'legitimate' side of the of organization," Ishikawa said. "And it's why bringing down the organization isn't so simple."

"Yes," Tomoko said. "Drugs could be shipped into the area with Tokyo Shipping, funneled through one of the Bun Bun Yum locations, which in turn, is owned by the West Kanto Real Estate company."

"And what evidence do we have to raid the offices of any of these companies? Zero," Ishikawa added. "Tokyo Shipping company could claim they were tricked by one of their clients into shipping the drugs, Bun Bun Yum could blame the employees, and in the case that bad press might close down that Bun Bun Yum location, the West Kanto Real Estate company would come out Scott free. Even though we're certain the logistics and the handling was all done in their offices."

"Twenty three companies, twenty three family," Su said as she looked over the chart. "Odd. What about the Urashima family itself?"

Ishikawa nodded. "I see you noticed that each of the twenty three families ran a separate company. The Urashima family itself? This is where it gets complicated. Urashima provided the protection and the logistics. And in truth, the twenty three families did not fully control the companies either. Until just a few years ago, the Urashima Family, more specifically, Hina Urashima, had a controlling stake in ten of them. Significant ownership in the remaining thirteen."

"Ah," Mutsumi clapped her hand. "So it's like a mother giving its children its own farm, while the mother protected the children."

"Except the mother was the one that still owned the farms, and only allowed the kids to work and profit on them," Ishikawa said. "Still, it worked out well for the twenty three families and the Urashima. With the Urashima as the head, they shared resources and men. An attack on one, is an attack on all. You can imagine how formidable they would be in taking them on."

"Of course, that was then," Tomoko said as he brought out a transparency and covered the blue print. "This is now."

Thirteen of the lines that once connected to the Urashima family now had a X line of them. Many of the boxes with names, that ran from the thirteen companies also had X's.

Su looked over the chart, "thirteen of the families no longer worked for the Urashima?"

"Hina Urashima began sabotaging their operations," Ishikawa said, "mismanaging drug shipments, anonymous tip offs of guns sales, failure of payments to clients… needless to say those thirteen families felt it was necessarily to sever ties with the Urashima family and go at it alone."

Mutsumi looked at that chart, "Oooh. Pretty. So, she cut the links with these families?"

"But wouldn't they have figured out this was Grandma Hina doing," Su asked.

"And wouldn't this be dangerous," Motoko added. "Since these families are now independent of the Urashima, Grandma Hina would lose whatever control that she had over them."

"This is why the thirteen families that defected, not so coincidently, were also the families that Urashima Family had the least control over," Ishikawa said. "However, she still had extensive knowledge of their inner workings. And even after their defection, we were able to infiltrate their operations."

"As for the thirteen being independent risky, that's true," Tomoko conceded. "But it was also the best way to bring them all down. This, wouldn't have been possible if they had stayed within the Urashima Family umbrella."

"Better to take on a severed appendage than take on the beast as a whole," Haruka said.

"As for suspecting Hina Urashima herself," Tomoko scratched the back of his head. "That's the other side of the story."

"In order for this to work, she had to maintain complete control over her underlings," Ishikawa said as he sat back. "She had to rule with an iron fist over the ten that the Urashima still had control over. And I'm not going to pretty this up. This meant torture or murder of those that might consider questioning her authority."

"And even with the ten, she was still weakening them," Tomoko said. "An iron fist on hand, while undercutting the organization with the other. It, was to be her legacy. She'll dirty her hands so the rest of family would never know what it's like."

Kitsune shifted in her seat with each new revelation over a woman that she thought was just the original manager of the Hinata Sou. "She had all this going on, and none of us knew it."

"It sounds like she was winning," Motoko said as she reviewed the chart. "It looks like the half of the families have been taken care of."

"Umm… I just thought of something," Ema said. "Didn't you say something about corrupt cops or something?"

Ishikawa nodded. "As much as it pains me to say it, but a significant portion of the police force had been, bought off."

"However, if you remember the news a few years back about a rash of resignations due to stress," Tomoko said, "you can probably guess the real reason."

"And don't forget the resignation of the prosecutors three years ago," Ishikawa said.

"But it couldn't last could it," Su said. "Since now we're here."

"There is one thing Hina Urashima couldn't stop," Ishikawa said. "And while it may look like she was taken it down with lightning speed, in reality, it wasn't fast enough for Hina-san."

"She wasn't getting any younger," Haruka said. She took out a new cigarette as placed it on her mouth.

"But if this was a big concern, what about her world wide tour when Keitaro arrived," Kitsune said, "I mean, she doesn't have time to be screwing around right?"

"Hmph," Haruka said, "I always wondered about that."

"It… may seem silly," Ishikawa said. "But she wasn't just doing it for fun. She was seriously trying to find a way to extend her life."

"How would you know," Haruka said skeptically.

"She told me," Ishikawa squirmed in his seat as he felt Haruka's gaze. "While, I wouldn't say we're the best of friends, at least she… confided in me much of her plans. And the only thing she feared in her last days was what she will leave as an inheritance once she passed from this world. She wanted to live just a little longer in order to see the end of the organization."

Su looked up as realization hit her. "Grandma Hina wasn't able to do that. Which meant that she left behind a lot of property."

Haruka looked at the group. "If you're wondering about the will, no, there was nothing about the companies, the properties, or whatever assets related to this organization."

"But there was a lot of stuff under her name," Su said, "Shouldn't the lawyers have raised that issue?"

"Nope," Haruka replied. "Mother's lawyer mentioned nothing about these properties. However, I don't think any of our lawyers cared to look at all her assets either, since her known assets were still substantial. After all, I got one hundred million yen out of the deal."

"…one hundred million YEN?" The residents said in unison.

"How come you didn't mention that," Kitsune asked.

"If I told you earlier, you'd probably ask me to pay for everything," Haruka said. "I'm not supposed to be a bank you know."

"That's… not true," Kitsune said as she pushed her index fingers together. "By the way, the café needs some renovation. Mind if I borrow…"

"No," Haruka cut Kitsune off.

"But how much money did Keitaro's parents inherit? And Keitaro himself," Motoko asked.

"Keitaro's parents received 100 million yen as well, which they gave to charity," Haruka said. "And did you forget about the truckloads of artwork that was dumped at their bakery."

"Oh yeah," Kitsune snickered. "Their faces when they saw all those paintings and statues being unloaded on their property was priceless."

"Wait, why didn't you get some artworks Haruka," Shinobu asked.

"Who said I didn't," Haruka grinned. "I just gave it all to Keitaro's parents. They didn't need to know they also got my half. And Seta didn't need yet more distractions than he already had." Haruka's hand unconsciously made a fist.

"And what about Keitaro? Was he rolling in the dough too," Kitsune asked.

"As for Keitaro… he received nothing," Haruka said.

"NOTHING?" the residents said in unison.

"That's because he already received his inheritance," Haruka clarified.

Shinobu blinked a few times before she realized what Haruka meant. "The Hinata Sou."

"If Keitaro really wanted to, he could sell this place and live the rest of his life in retirement," Haruka said. "People would kill to own this place."

"Eep," Ema squirmed.

"Sorry," Haruka said. "Anyways, even with this recession, if Keitaro placed this on the market, even I wouldn't be able to afford it."

"Hmph," Su said as she crossed her arms. "And yet there is still the issue with her 'hidden' assets."

"Doesn't sound like they were that hidden," Haruka said, "if there is property with her name on it."

"No one was looking at least," Ishikawa conceded.

"About that," Ema swallowed as she tried to suppress the image of the dead bodies that Haruka had unintentionally reminded her. "Why would there still be property under her name in the first place since she's, gone?"

"Probably bureaucratic red tape," Haruka said. "You try getting through that stacks of paper if you discover they misspelled your name on the deed." Haruka let out a whiff of smoke. "But it should be clear what happened to her remaining assets."

"Hmph," Ishikawa said, "I somehow doubt she had wanted it to all go to her granddaughter. That just doesn't seem like her."

"Maybe she didn't," Su said frowning. "Maybe it was Kanako that did it. Or one of the remaining families that were still loyal to the Urashima that made her the head."

"And to think, just a few weeks after she passed away, all our progress came to an end," Tomoko said.

Haruka raised on eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Mmph," Ishikawa gritted his teeth. "Evidence collecting almost completely ended. Informants disappeared one by one. The thirteen families that broke off? We were able to take down six of them. But there has been a paradigm shift with the remaining seven. Five of their leaders had been taken out, and their territories fell into the hands of what we thought was an unknown outside party. And the ten remaining families still loyal to the Urashima Family all but vanished on our radar."

"And this didn't raise eyebrows," Haruka asked.

"Our team was in denial," Ishikawa admitted. "We just brushed it off as a bad week, and then a month, and then half a year."

"So much for our proud public safety force," Haruka said as she took in another drag.

"And now," Ishikawa said as he sighed. "What I think is going on." He took out a notebook. "We all know that Kanako Urashima is not related by blood. I'm sure the traditionalist in the organization wanted to ensure…"

Haruka began to snicker, though it started off as a coughing fit.

"You find this amusing Urashima-san," Ishikawa eyed Haruka.

"You're telling me, she kidnapped my nephew, because of blood," Urashima coughed a few times. "You really believe that? If that mattered, why didn't they just go after my brother?"

Ishikawa cleared his throat. "It's just a theory. And, your brother owns a bakery. Can't say he's prepared to run an entire organization. Not that Keitaro-san could either." He looked up at the group present. "I don't mean to offend, but Kanako probably choose Keitaro-san because he was the weakest. He's probably being prepped up as a puppet while Kanako is the true head." Ishikawa later gritted his teeth. "As for Naru, I can imagine she is her hostage in order to keep Keitaro in line."

"Yeah," Haruka said with skepticism. "You go ahead and believe that."

"Like I said, it's just a theory," Ishikawa said. "But the fact remains that this has gotten a lot more dangerous than even I had imagined."

Su gritted her teeth. "Then we must do everything we can to find her and put an end to this." Su shot up from her seat. "Then it's decided! We'll search every single property Hina Urashima owned! That will lead us to Kanako!"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Ishikawa said as he waved at Su as he tried to get her attention. "Weren't you paying attention? This isn't just a simple kidnapping case. We're talking about a criminal organization that appears to be reinforcing itself."

"Yes. This isn't child's play here," Tomoko added. "We weren't telling you this for any of you to get further involved. We were telling you this to let us handle the situation."

"Yeah, think about it. This is, dangerous," Ema said tentatively. "I mean, that house, and the, the…" Ema felt nauseous.

"I know," Su said. "But we have to try. Grandma Hina wanted us to be free from this demon. And now we should be the ones to finally end it!"

Motoko's eyes widened. With renewed resolved, she stood up besides Su. "I agree! Keitaro and Naru were innocent victims here. Grandma Hina would never have wanted this. We must rescue them and finish what Grandma Hina started!"

"Yes! I, I won't rest until senpai is safe," Shinobu said with a determined look.

"I, I don't know what we can do but," Kitsune stood up. "I'll do everything I can! Kanako is going down!"

"Ara," Mutsumi stood up. "I'll fight too! Taking on the Yakuza should be fun!"

"That's not what you…" Ishikawa face palmed.

Ema quivered before finally standing up. "I'll, I'll join too! I still need to tell senpai I passed."

Haruka entered reception area. "Hmm. Once you get them going, they won't stop."

Tomoko looked at Ishikawa in defeat.

Ishikawa sighed. "What have I done to deserve this? Okay! Okay! Well first, checking all of Hina Urashima's properties will not do any good. It's doubtful that more than handful still belong to her. And then you have at least ten known companies and their properties to investigate. And I said ten known companies. If there is one thing Hina Urashima should have realized when she went on her world wide tour, control by proxy is no substitute for direct control."

Unknown Location - Main Lobby

Kanako entered one of the half spiral staircases that led to the ground floor. "So what business do we have Onijima-san?"

"It seems my last mission had a little, complication," Onijima said, still with a vile smile. "The Tosho Family was better prepared than I imagined."

Kanako eyed Onijima. "So you failed?"

"Of course not," Onijima grinned. "I would never dishonor myself and come crawling back here in failure. No. But his body guards were much more competent that I initially realized." Onijima took out a serrated knife. "However, they were still no match for me."

"And I assume the Tosho head didn't agree to rejoin the Urashima," Kanako said.

"Of course not," Onijima said. "But even if he did, given how he was pissing in his pants, he would be a disgrace."

"I guess that means you've wiped that pathetic family out then," Kanako smiled.

"No," Onijima said. "I let his twin daughters live to join the organization."

Kanako cocked her head. "Odd. I never would have imagined you to be the merciful type?"

"Since when did I say that," Onijima said, "But they've proven themselves to be quite useful to us. After all, they turned their own father into slice meat. You should have been there as the twins gleefully turned their dear old father into chunks while pledging loyalty to the Urashima family. The cleaning crew whined about the mess they left. But now they can finally earn their pay."

Kanako giggled. "Sounds like it went well. But what's the problem?"

"Unfortunately, the Suzuki head caught wind of this," Onijima stated, "and now wants a face to face meeting with the Urashima head here." Onijima slid down the half spiral staircase banister. "They are waiting outside as we speak."

"So you're telling me they found this place," Kanako crossed her arms. "That is unacceptable."

"A pity too. And to think I thought they would be reasonable and realize the Urashima family is back," Onijima sarcastically said. As he made it to the ground level, he stood in front of Kanako. "And I mean no disrespect for your grandmother. But I am glad we now have a competent leader as head."

Kanako grinned. "What you think of my grandmother is none of my concern since I never liked her either. Just remember you're apart of the family as my oniichan."

"Of course," Onijima said, "my loyalty is with the family no matter what that old hag tried to do." He leered at Kanako as another thought came to his mind. "That reminds me, how long are you going to lie to Keitaro?"

"Lie," Kanako grinned. "What lie?"

"Telling him you're looking for his bitch," Onijima said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kanako feigned ignorance. "After all, I've been looking at Narusegawa every single night. Who knows? Maybe I'll even see her tonight."

Onijima's smile widened. "Oh, I'd love to be there when you do 'see' her."

Kanako grinned. "Maybe you'll be lucky one of these days." Kanako turned to her maid. "Kyoko, are tonight's preparations ready?"

"Yes mistress," the Asian maid replied.

"Good," Kanako grinned.

"And mistress," Kyoko bowed, "I have brought this for our unwanted guest." Kyoko knelt down and presented a sword to Kanako.

"Interesting," Onijima said behind her. "I thought the Urashima style was mainly hand to hand combat."

"It is," Kanako said as she took the sword in hand. "But I made my own variation on it." She looked at and stared at the door way. "Now, to deal our unwanted guest."

Kyoko took out two keys, placed them in the locks, and simultaneously turned them.

"Strange seeing the locks on the inside," Onijima commented.

"Now, now Onijima-san," Kanako said as she tied the scabbard to her shirt. "You don't need me to tell you why this door is special."

The double doors' gears and bolts cranked.

* * *

-End of Chapter 7

Another update of the year! You could say I'm on a roll… except given how update challenged how many of my fics here, I'm still way behind.

Another thing is, I try to keep any Japlish to a bare minimum. Almost to nothing. Besides obvious stuff like; 'How many people here know that ojosama means Mistress, or goshujin-sama means Master (which is also an archaic word for husband. You could probably guess why that''s no longer the term for husband)?' That's what I thought. One of my beefs in reading fanfics are people that think throwing in tons of Japanese terms makes them look cool or smart. When in fact, it just brings down the fic as the people that don't know Japanese have to find out (usually in that story's authors notes, but not always) what it means.

The only minor exception is honorifics. Only because sometimes, there isn't a really good English translation of the term. Like Senpai. That being said, I cannot say that the times I did use honorifics, I did them well. Derp derp, I used wiki! I expert now! Derp. No! I'm sure I might get a review saying I got usage wrong here and there because, again, I'm no expect.

Yes, I know Su is a little OOC. But I'm also thinking that, given this is a few years after the end of the manga, she also matured at that time. As for Mutsumi, I'm going to be honest, I had trouble writing her. Do I make her an airhead? Do I give her pearls of wisdom? Hopefully I'll figure it before the end of the story.

Second, more minor, but I might get people bitching about it. Whether to use family, organization, or clan. Honestly? Didn't know what term to use, so I use organization a lot. Second, and probably more significant to purist, it being Yakuza, and might be breaking some Yakuza convention, it's another case where I wasn't looking for complete accuracy here. I know I know, if you're going to do something, do it right. Well, yeah. I at least wanted to maintain aspects like honor and respect. Just that, unless it's something egregious to the point where it brings down the believability of the story, I'm willing to let some things pass.

Next chapter, the Hinata Sou investigation continues. And Kanako deals with the unwanted guest. As Naru awaits her fate. Until then, later!


End file.
